Count down to grand cathedral re opening

December 1994

The countdown to completion of the restoration of St. Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy has entered its final days. All contractors have been told to be off the site by Friday, so that worship can resume next Wednesday.

The re-constructed alter will be dedicated at that first Mass, while a full programme of services in the stunningly-refurbished cathedral has been scheduled for Sunday December 18.

Among the final list of tasks to be completed will be to set the clocks on the spire back in motion. Also left to last has been the selection of paint colours for all the entrance doors by architect Michael Tierney.

Meanwhile, a call has gone out for volunteers to help with shifting almost two hundred freshly varnished seats into their correct positions. The late flurry of activity has continued despite an accident which put principal contractor Jimmy Browne on crutches.

However, he has remained in constant contact with foreman Michael Scallan by means of a new mobile telephone. Michael has been attending to last-minute landscaping, the removal of the builders’ site office, and the dismantling of scaffolding.

Fortunately, a leak at the base of the re-gilded weathercock was discovered before the last of the ladders were taken down from the spire. Also completed late in the day was the new heating system, installed most efficiently by sub-contractor Charlie Delaney.

Some tasks will remain outstanding, such as the tuning of the organ, which requires the levels of silence which could not be guaranteed while Pugin’s masterpiece was swarming with painters and construction workers. The numbering on the clocks will not be gilded until there is perfectly dry weather, so there will be a delay there too.

Fine tuning of the sound and lighting systems cannot be undertaken until the cathedral is actually in use. However, there is no doubt that parishioners and other worshippers will be amazed at the transformation which has taken place since last April.

Not only has the fabric of the building been put in order to secure its future, but there has also been a startling re-decoration of the interior. Practically all the old external stonework has been cleaned, while the grounds have also been tidied up during the nearly nine months of constant labour.