Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
G.E. Street Anniversary
Yesterday (Thursday) marked the bicentenary of the birth of George Edmund Street a leading gothic revivalist who trained with G. Gilbert Scott, and who by 1850 was diocesan architect for Oxford, and later York, Ripon and Winchester. His published tours of northern Italy and Spain brought him renown and informed his architectural preferences. He was responsible for many English parish churches but is often remembered for his London law courts.
In the early 1860s, Street designed churches in Wexford (Ardamine) and Kilkenny (Piltown), and this Irish connection continued in 1866 when he lectured in Dublin on Irish C13 gothic in the same series as the Archbishop of Dublin, Richard Chenevix Trench. A well–researched report on the restoration of Christ Church cathedral followed in 1868 (serialised in The Architect in 1869). The 1871 intervention of the distiller, Henry Roe, to underwrite the costs allowed Street an altogether broader artistic vision for Christ Church, replacing the choir with one based on the crypt ground plan, rebuilding the nave, and building a new synod hall around St Michael’s tower, joining both with an elegant bridge.
Street also worked on the cathedrals of Kildare, Killaloe, Limerick and Kilkenny. A prodigious writer, his ‘Lectures on Architecture’ were reproduced in the Irish Builder in 1881, and before his death that year, he wrote up his Christ Church restoration (1882), supposing it ‘a deed unequalled as far as I know in Europe’.
Street’s restoration of Christ Church has been detailed by Professor Roger Stalley in George Edmund Street and the Restoration of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Music in Calary, in Calary parish church, Co.Wicklow, continues tomorrow (Saturday) at 8pm. Orla Shannon (soprano), David Scott (baritone) and Aileen Cahill (piano) will perform a selection of songs written by Ina Boyle to celebrate the songbook of the Enniskerry composer, which was published in 2023.To book tickets or for further information, please email derekneilson11@gmail.com or ring (01) 2818118.
On Sunday in Christ Church cathedral, at 3.30pm the Archbishop of Dublin will ordain to the priesthood the Revds Mike Buchanan, Caroline Brennan and Mathew McCauley, while in All Saints church, Clooney, the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe will raise the Revd Melanie Sloan to the priesthood.
On Monday St Stephen’s church, Dublin, celebrates 200 years since it was first consecrated with a Choral Evensong at 8pm, The choir will be directed by Amy Ryan and the preacher will be the Archbishop of Dublin.
On Tuesday there will be lunchtime recital in St Mary’s cathedral, Limerick, at 1.15pm by Cantoral. In St Fachna’s cathedral Kilfenora, at 8pm, architectural historian, Dr Michael O’Neill, will give a lecture on ‘The Architectural History of Kilfenora Cathedral’.
In All Saints church, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, at 8pm, on Wednesday, there will be a concert by Cantabella Children’s Chorus from California. Admission is free but any donations received will be given to the Parish National School.
Published in the Friday edition of The Irish Times