St Columba’s Church has been given a €50k grant under the Heritage Structure Fund to preserve its stain glass and decorative internal joinery.
The iconic Swords building, which was built in 1811, will have conservation works done on its leaded diamond pattern windows, spliced repair of the carved timber tracery and lime mortar pointing of reveals.
The works will be carried out by an experienced conservation contractor who specialises in stained glass and joinery.
This grant is one of 14 heritage projects in Fingal to receive funding under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) and the Historic Structures Fund (HSF). It is the only project in the Swords area and the second highest award across all Fingal projects. The Fingal heritage project grants totaled €330,560.
Cllr Ian Carey said:
“It is really great to see St Columba’s Church receiving this level of funding. Many of us will remember not long ago that the parish there had a sign out the front saying ‘Save our Church’ as water had severely damaged its ceiling.
“Now it is in a much better place and hopefully this funding will secure the stain glass and joinery for many years to come. The funding came from the Department of my colleague Minister of State Malcolm Noonan and I’m glad he could support St Columba’s Church with this important work.
“St Columba’s Church is a real historical gem that many people in Swords have not been to. I would highly recommend people take the time to visit. It is really beutiful inside and it’s walls inside are a testiment to the families that lived in the Swords area down the centuries with many tributes and memorial plaques.
“I would love in years to come for the historic cluster around St Columba’s Church to be developed in a way that maximises the historical significance of the three buildings. There are three distict eras of Irish history standing side by side there. The round tower from the old monastery dating back to the 10th Century, the 14th Century Square Tower (known as the Norman Tower) and the Georgian Church.”
IMAGE CREDIT: Swords Tidy Towns website
