09.06.2015
St Patrick’s Cathedral Marks 150th Anniversary of Guinness Restoration
A weekend of celebrations marked the 150th anniversary of the Guinness restoration of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. The renowned Guinness Choir performed in the cathedral on Saturday evening (June 6) while on Sunday there was a Festival Evensong to mark the milestone anniversary. Members of the Guinness family were present on both occasions.
Benjamin Lee Guinness undertook the major restoration work of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the cathedral having fallen into considerable disrepair. While the scale of his interventions attracted some criticism at the time, the work has withstood the test of time and the cathedral today is largely as it was following the restoration for which Guinness refused to employ an architect. An exhibition on the restoration continues in the Irish Architectural Archive on Merrion Square until the end of the summer.
Saturday evening’s concert was introduced by Dean Victor Stacey. The conductor of the Guinness Choir, David Milne, said the choir was delighted to be associated with the celebrations. The music chosen for the evening had particular significance to the cathedral and events 150 years ago.
During the interval, the Dean’s Vicar, Canon Charles Mullen, gave an illustrated talk on the restoration and the background to it. He suggested that if it had not been for Benjamin Lee Guinness the cathedral would not be standing today. Plans for restoration had been drawn up by architect, Richard Cromwell Carpenter but there was no money to carry out the work until Guinness offered his assistance. While he refused to retain an architect he promised not to deviate from the architectural design. Canon Mullen outlined the extensive works and repairs undertaken, the most controversial of which was the removal of the choir screen, he suggested.
Photo captions:
Top – Dr Michael O’Neill, architectural historian; the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Very Revd Victor Stacey; David Milne, the conductor of the Guinness Choir; and Dean’s Vicar, Canon Charles Mullen.
Bottom – The Hon Rory Guinness with Dean Victor Stacey. (Photo: Louis Parminter)