Campaign needs to raise €2m to repair cathedral spire and tower

The Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, last night launched a campaign to raise €2 million to save a 130-year-old cathedral spire.

Built at a cost of £1,473 in 1874, the spire and tower of Ennis Cathedral are in a bad state of disrepair.

Bishop Walsh said the cathedral has deep roots in the Clare and Irish traditions.

"In so many ways St Peter and Paul's Cathedral is a Teach an Phobal - People's House, and our house is now in need of repair." The cathedral building was completed in 1843 and the tower and spire were added in 1874.

A fire in 1995 necessitated major internal work and it was at this stage that the problem to the structure of the tower was identified.

The Ennis Cathedral Spire Restoration Project will need an average contribution of €28 from each parishioner.

In the coming weeks, a team of 600 volunteers will ensure that every home in the town is visited to raise the money needed.

Fundraising group chairman, Mr Donal Griffin, said yesterday €400,000 had already been raised.

The spire, together with the O'Connell monument and the medieval friary, is an icon in the streetscape of Ennis.

Project manager, Mr Paddy Coleman, said work was expected to begin on May 1st and would take six months to complete.

Over the years, water has penetrated the tower and rotted the internal wooden floors and rusted the bell supports.