FUNDRAISING FOR repair work on a 19th-century landmark church is under way after a west Cork community rallied to save it.
Kilfaughnabeg Church sits on a cliff overlooking Glandore Harbour near Leap, Co Cork, where its crumbling tower is at risk of collapse due to coastal erosion.
The Church of Ireland building, consecrated on September 12th, 1861, serves a handful of local families and is open for Sunday service in the summer months only. The iconic church has never been modernised and functions without water, heat or electricity. Following a public meeting, the wider local community launched an appeal to raise €80,000 for urgent repairs to the tower to prevent its collapse.
A further €120,000 is required for repair works to take place at a later date.
The church, a protected structure, is accessed through a winding tunnel cut out of the cliff face and enjoys a central position overlooking Glandore village and harbour.
The village attracts a high proportion of summer visitors. Locals hope that by diversifying the church’s uses, they can help raise funds for repairs.
Very Rev Christopher Peters said the community rallied to save the church to prevent it being sold off.
“The church-bound community in Glandore is very small and the question we faced was, is this a project we can handle or is it time to consider alternatives? There is widespread support from the local community to maintain it so we have launched our appeal and now we have to get the money in,” he said.
Local man Tim John O’Donoghue ended a lifelong practice of ringing the church bell for Sunday service earlier this year after the church was deemed unsafe by engineers and was temporarily closed. Plans are afoot to open the church to craftspeople and artists as an exhibition space. Concerts and poetry readings are being considered and Dean Peters hopes the chapel will serve its original use and become a place of prayer serving all denominations.
“Over the summer Glandore becomes alive and busy. It would be nice to have cultural events and we would also like to develop it to be a place of prayer in the community. It is always open, people can come in and see what it looks like but also to come in and pray so that it fulfils its real purpose for the whole community,” he said.
The first phase of restoration work on the tower is required urgently and will be carried out in accordance with strict conservation guidelines once funding is raised.
In the meantime, the “little Church of St Fachtna” remains open for Sunday service throughout August at 10am.
Built in 1860, the church originally served a local Church of Ireland population of 53, seven of whom attended regular services.