Parishioners at an inner-city parish have held a protest outside the residence of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin in a bid to get funds released to renovate their local church.
Carrying banners reading “Save our church” and chanting “We want our money back”, more than 30 people gathered outside the gates of the Drumcondra residence demanding that funds which they said had been earmarked for restoring the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at City Quay be spent.
The church, which is 160 years old and commonly known as the Dockers’ Church, has fallen into disrepair like many buildings in Dublin’s inner city. However, a lifeline of sorts was acquired in 2019 when a €3.5 million settlement was agreed upon with the developers of the neighbouring eight-story Grant Thornton premises, due to its infringement on the church’s “right to light”.
Following the payment of roughly €500,000 in lawyers’ fees and the granting of €1 million to the adjacent City Quay National School, there was approximately €2 million left available for the needed restoration works of City Quay Church.
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A lengthy planning process for the renovation work was led by Fr Pearse Walsh, given that it is a listed building, with the archdiocese kept informed throughout, according to parishioners. In November 2020, planning permission was finally granted for the renovation works. However, at the eleventh hour, then archbishop Diarmuid Martin withdrew approval for the project.
Archbishop Martin, who was due to retire in a matter of weeks, said the decision regarding how the funds should be used and if the work could be carried out was a matter for his successor, Archbishop Dermot Farrell.
This was due to the fact that the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary holds the distinction of the Archbishop of Dublin having the title of parish priest, with City Quay being one of just four parishes in the city where this is the case.
Despite persistent calls since from the local community for the project to go ahead, the remaining €2 million settlement fee has yet to be released back to the City Quay parish.
Residents say the building is falling into further disrepair with each passing week.
“The church is disgusting, it is falling apart. And you look here, the Archbishop’s house certainly isn’t falling asunder,” said Frances Heavey, a former parishioner of City Quay Church who had travelled from Trim, Co Meath, to show support.
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“My husband and I received our first Communion together, we made our Confirmations there, and we got married there and I’ve told my husband we are going back there when we die,” she said.
“It’s not just my generation that are connected to City Quay Church, our great grandparents got married there too. We are all strong in our faith and we aren’t going to let it die. We’ll chain ourselves to the church if we have to.
“If I could say one thing to the archbishop, it would be: ‘Hand out the dosh.’ Why do we fundraise or take collections on a Sunday if the money isn’t being put back into the church and the surrounding community. We won’t take this lying down,” Ms Heavey added.
Another parishioner, Marian Roche, said: “I have got a real connection to the church. I’m a singer in there and my six children were all baptised, and made their Communions and Confirmations there. I was married there too, so it’s very precious to me and everyone who has turned out today.”
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Some locals believe the diocese ultimately wishes to sell off the potentially valuable site.
However, the Archdiocese of Dublin rejected this claim, saying its appointment of a new parish administrator Fr Alan Hilliard, who will take up the position following Fr Walsh’s impending retirement, was a sign of its commitment to City Quay church.
“The Archbishop can give no clearer signal of his support for the parish and its future”, the archdiocese said in a statement.
“Archbishop Farrell has expressed strong support for the renovation and renewal of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, City Quay,” it added.
But the diocese was unable to provide comment on why works had yet to be undertaken at the church beyond saying “procedures have been developed to govern all capital projects in the archdiocese in line with good practice and the best advice available. They apply to the planned works in City Quay”.