Irish Church Architecture in the Era of Vatican II

Irish Church Architecture in the Era of Vatican II Richard Hurley. This book reviews the historical evolution of church buildings in Ireland by examining the best known churches built in the country between the 1960s and the 1980s. The first initiative for change in church design in Ireland came from within the architectural profession, a 1955 symposium organised by the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland attracting considerable attention. The work of continental architects came to Irish attention because of an exhibition of contemporary work in France, held in Maynooth in 1957, and the Modern Churches in Germany exhibition shown in Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Glenstal in 1962. The liturgical reforms stemming from Vatican II (1962-1965) were a further force for change, and the movement gathered momentum with the establishment of the Episcopal Liturgical Commission and the formation of a national advisory commis- sion on sacred art and architecture in 1965. This book surveys the work done in Ireland since Vatican II in building new churches and in re-ordering existing churches as venues for the revised liturgy. And it documents the contribution of a generation of architects and artists.