Sold on sound restoration plan

AN auction in aid of conservation work on Cork’s iconic, St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, includes a limited edition print by Pablo Picasso, an Arcadian painting by William Irving, rare items of Cork and Limerick silver and a bottle of Chateau Petrus donated and signed by Michael Flatley.

The auction takes place at 10.30am sharp at Fota House and is being conducted pro bono by Sheppard’s Irish Auction House. The firm recently conducted an auction on the same basis in aid of Christchurch in Dublin. Other items for auction include stone sphinxes, an Irish George II library chair, an 18th century Irish breakfast hall table, a signed Irish William IV sundial and a platinum and diamond ring.

“There has been a huge reaction to the auction,” says the Dean of Cork, Very Reverend Nigel Dunne. “I think one of the attractive things about it is the 50/50 deal we offered people. When they put an item into the auction, they get 50% of the sale price back, commission free. People recognise the building as being very important to Cork. It belongs to everyone in the city.”

The conservation of the cathedral has been ongoing for the last 15 years, with the most recent phase being the rebuilding of the historic cathedral organ. About €500,000 is needed to complete the organ project. “That’s our immediate target. To complete all the conservation work we need between €2.5m and €3m.”

The fund-raising effort has resulted in nearly €4m being spent on the building. The money has come from fund-raising efforts, gifts and grants. “It has been very tough going, particularly since the economic crash. There really is no funding out there whatsoever. We were very lucky to get a grant of €212,000 from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht last year. But we have to match it. It’s hard to come up with that sort of money. But we have to keep going. If we stop, we basically stop drawing funding. The frustration for me is that we’ve come so far. I’d hate to see the fund-raising slipping back.

“Once conservation work on the building is done, we can put a maintenance plan in place just to keep on top of it. That would mean there would be no need for future generations to go looking for millions.”

What pleases Reverend Dunne is the coming together of the cathedral, Fota House and the Crawford Art Gallery, which hosted the launch of the auction. “It’s great to see this strength of co-operation between local attractions and heritage sites.”

Altogether, there are 700 lots going under the hammer. Money raised will go towards the completion of the full restoration of the exterior stonework of Dean’s Chapel, emergency works to the gargoyles and prevention of water entering at the west front. This follows work to all three spires which has been completed. Earlier phases of work involved re-roofing the complete structure, re-gilding the angel and refurbishing the bells.

Internally, apart from the ongoing programme of marble and plaster work restoration, rebuilding of the organ is now at an advanced stage. The organ lies at the heart of St Fin Barre’s 700-year old musical education and outreach programme, supporting the work of the cathedral choirs.

* www.sheppards.ie