One of the most important landmarks in the centre of Dublin, St George's Church in Hardwicke Place, is now the subject of a dangerous buildings order, The Irish Times has learned.
The order, issued by Dublin City Council, requires the owner of the former church to remove all the loose stonework in its triple-tiered steeple and wrap it in wire mesh to prevent any more falling off.
But the council has no money to assist the owner, Redgrove Properties Ltd, of Galway, in restoring the building because the Government halved grants for the restoration of heritage properties in this year's Budget.
The cost of restoring the steeple and portico of St George's (now the Temple Theatre) is estimated at €3 million, equivalent to the entire allocation for 2002 of funding for the restoration of heritage properties throughout the State.
The steeple of St George's, which is nearly as high as Liberty Hall, is the only church spire that can be seen from O'Connell Bridge. It is also the first landmark that greets visitors on their way in to the city centre from Dublin Airport.
The former church, which was opened in 1814 and deconsecrated more than a decade ago, is acknowledged as the masterpiece of Francis Johnston, architect of the GPO in O'Connell Street and the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle.
Its steeple has been surrounded by scaffolding for the past 15 years because the Portland stone was cracking due to expansion of the iron cramps that held it in place, the same problem that once afflicted the Custom House.
The Church of Ireland, having tried in vain to raise funds for the restoration of St George's, sold the building in 1991 to an actor, Mr Sean Simon, who had plans to turn it into a theatre. He, too, eventually gave up.
After its deconsecration, the bells which Leopold Bloom heard ringing in Ulysses were removed to Taney Church in Dundrum, while the ornate pulpit was carved up to decorate Thomas Read's pub in Parliament Street.
Even after St George's became a major "rave" venue, further attempts were made to raise public funds for its restoration; first, in 1991, to celebrate Dublin's role as European City of Culture, and later from the Millennium Committee.
But despite its location in the heart of the Taoiseach's constituency, no funding was forthcoming.
"It is absolutely scandalous that this has been allowed to go on and on," Mr David Slattery, the conservation architect, said yesterday.
Mr Slattery, who was responsible for the restoration of the Custom House in 1991, said there was absolutely no doubt that St George's could be restored, although this would probably mean taking down and rebuilding its steeple.
His 1991 report on the church found that the cornice and frieze of its Greek-style portico were also affected by spalling stonework due to the expansion of ferrous metal clamps.
According to Mr Slattery, the present owner of the church could not be saddled with the bill for its restoration.
"Given that our historic buildings are one of the main reasons tourists come here, surely Bord Fáilte could chip in," he said.
In the meantime, Redgrove Properties Ltd has been given 28 days to carry out the works required by the city council to remove the danger posed by stonework from the church's landmark steeple falling into the street.
