St John's Cathedral in Limerick will need 40 tonnes of copper to replace its one-acre roof this autumn as part of a £6 million refurbishment programme.
The 142-year-old Catholic cathedral has a 308-foot spire and tower which are in need of repair. The project manager, Mr Tom McMahon, of McMahon Design & Management, said masonry repairs would have to be carried out on the limestone walls where calcification has occurred. Damage has also been caused to walls and columns from the original slate roof which was replaced with copper in 1957. Copper is five times lighter than slate, meaning the original roof weighed around 200 tonnes. Outside, broken pavements and deteriorating tarmac are also in need of replacement.
Mr McMahon said the limestone building was unique as it was built in 1853, just six years after the Famine. It was funded by public subscription and today much of the £6 million will have to be raised locally.
"It is a protected building under the Planning Act and it is a building of both local and national heritage.
"There should be substantial grants for conservation and we are about to explore this," he said. St John's has had periodic repair works carried out since Mass was first celebrated there in 1859. Refurbishment works were carried out in 1894, 1920, 1952 and 1979. "It's a grand old building but stone buildings do not come without problems with age," said Mr McMahon.
A survey is being carried out on the building's plasterwork and masonry which will be completed by July. Re-roofing will take place in the autumn to make the building waterproof and allow the walls to dry out for further works to be carried out next summer. The works are due to be completed by November 2002.
Father Denis Mullane, the cathedral administrator, said a church was originally envisaged on the site but such was the public response that a cathedral was built instead.
"They were great people to build it when they did," he said. Every generation has a responsibility to keep a religious and historical landmark."
A consultation process has begun with parishioners, Duchas, the corporation, the clergy in the diocese, the Heritage Council and An Taisce, and a planning permission process will follow.