Maria Steen with Sinead Strong of Catholic Mothers Ireland and Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor at the farewell reception for the archbishop, who recently resigned as Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland. Photo: Courtesy of Sinead Strong. A conference on ‘Irish Catholic Spaces: Pasts and Futures’ at Dublin City University will address “the extraordinary built heritage of the Church in Ireland,” according to Catholic Historical Society of Ireland committee member Prof. John McCafferty.
The conference will be put on by the historical society at DCU’s St Patrick’s Campus in Drumcondra on September 19. It will focus on the construction and funding of churches around the island, from the middle ages to post-Famine years.
“In a time when the many spaces created for Catholic worship and devotion, especially in the 19th century, are well into their second century of use, it is good to reflect,” continued Prof. McCafferty, who teaches in UCD’s School of History. “Interest in Ireland’s many beautiful and significant Catholic churches continues to grow apace,” he remarked.
Fellow committee member Bishop Paul Connell of Ardagh and Clonmacnois expressed hope that the conference would invite people to reflect on not only the beauty of Ireland’s churches, but the faith they represent.
“The built heritage of the Catholic Church in Ireland is a wonderful legacy which flourished on the faith of those who have gone before us. It is vital that we continue to maintain and preserve it,” said Bishop Connell. “This conference will help greatly to focus attention on the beauty and artistic quality of our churches. I am very much looking forward to our gathering, and I wish the contributors well as they prepare for it.”