The Minister for Justice and the Labour Party leader helped launch a €1.5 million fund-raising drive for the Unitarian church on St Stephen's Green, Dublin, yesterday.
Mr McDowell and Mr Ruairí Quinn, along with another Dublin South-East TD, Mr Eoin Ryan, were shown the ravages to the neo-Gothic building caused by erosion and pollution over the past 100 years. The fourth TD for the constituency, Mr John Gormley, would have been there but for his previous commitment in Johannesburg, according to Ms Doireann Ní Bhriain, a member of the fund-raising committee.
Unitarians trace their roots back to the first Protestant Dissenters in Dublin in the 16th century, many of whose descendants were later active in the United Irishmen. Followers of the teachings of Christ, Unitarians do not adhere to any set dogmas, and seek insights from other religions and philosophies.
The Unitarian building on St Stephen's Green was opened for worship in 1863, and remains a striking feature of the west side of the Green. The inside is dominated by its high stained-glass windows, including work from Sarah Purser's Tower of Glass studio.
Mr Ryan told The Irish Times it was very important that the exterior of the building be restored. "As you come round the corner of St Stephen's Green it's the first building you see," he said.
The building includes the Damer Hall, which for many years was the site of an Irish-language theatre, where Brendan Behan's An Giall (The Hostage) received its world premiere. Mr McDowell remembered it for a different reason - his wife's aunt and uncle met there while performing in an Irish-language play.
The church is open to the public all this week from 12.30 to 2.30, as part of National Heritage Week, and Ms Ní Bhriain appealed to Dubliners to visit it.