Parish Development Buildings Committee

Members of the Committee

The Development Buildings Committee (DBC) was set up in November 2008 to plan, implement and oversee several major projects. The First Project is already underway - replacing the Church heating system and putting new roofs on side aisles, meeting room and sacristy. That work is due to finish around mid-February.

The Second Project is the restoration of the parochial house. Built in 1878, rising damp has damaged the fabric of the house, which is a listed building. The DBC interviewed six firms and Collins Maher Martin from Rathfarnham was appointed. The remedial work and restoration of the parochial house will begin very soon and includes the re-integration of the basement, demolition of the 1960’s extension, rewiring, adding a kitchen/bathroom, dry lining exterior walls, and installing insulation and a heating system. It is anticipated that this work will finish in April 2010 when it is hoped to use the house not only as a residence but also a place where the community of the parish will be fostered and strengthened.

The Third Project sees the transfer of the Parish Office to 1a Ballinteer Road -- the old MABS office. This represents a doubling in size and so will additionally provide space for meetings. It is a great time to get building work done in terms of availability and value and it is anticipated that the combined projects will come in under the allocated budget €750,000.

The Fourth Project that the DBC has initiated is by far the most important and concerns the Church building itself. Like so many churches throughout the world this beautiful Church finds itself at the centre of the village, town or city because somebody at sometime made a choice to live the Christian faith in this place. The building blocks of this church are reminders of what they did with the resources available in their time to make the message of Christ relevant and alive in their locality.

Holy Cross Church has been rebuilt, altered and extended as populations and developments changed. Since the last major extension in the mid-fifties, the village has seen enormous change resulting in the physical importance of the Church being reduced against the backdrop of the Dundrum Town Centre, the large apartment blocks and the new By-Pass.

These changes offer opportunities for the parish to maximise the Church’s physical, spiritual and social role in a large vibrant commercial town centre. So the question arises - how to creatively engage with the passer by, the ‘iPod generation’, using modern technology as a tool to evangelise? Sacred architecture can speak powerfully to the modern. Think of Notre Dame in Paris, Cologne in Germany, and Christ Church in Dublin.

To help the parish shape these thoughts the DBC, together with the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, sponsored an architectural competition. Twenty-five architectural practices submitted entries for the competition and the winner was announced on 26^th November. All the entries were exhibited after the Masses 28/29^th November in the Parish Hall. (See GALLERY for photos of event.)

Next year, the DBC hope to be in a position to commission an architectural practice to further the work of improving the Parish Church; and how the Church might creatively engage with its surrounding environs.

Future projects the DBC will consider include the re-development of the Parish Hall beneath the Church and the possible development of the site at the rear of the parochial house.

Great thanks are due to the members of the Development Buildings Committee for their courage, common sense and hard work over the past year.

1/12/2009