|
By the mid 1920's, the South Parish of Cork city, had
grown in both population and area to a point where it
could no longer function with a single church. In an
effort to address the situation, the bishop of Cork, Rev.
Daniel Cohalan D.D designated Turners Cross as the
location for a second parish church to serve the ever
growing congregation.
According to the Cork Examiner article on Monday 26th
October, 1931, "Christ-King New Church Turners
Cross", Dr. Cohalan was quoted as having originally
decided on a more standard design from Irish & U.K.
architects but the cost had proved "well nigh
prohibitive". It was the result of reading an article
by Barry
Byrne that his lordship's attention was caught.
By the late 20's Byrne, a former student of Frank
Lloyd Wright, had already designed three Catholic
churches in the US, all of which received acclaim and
criticism for their bold and innovative designs. He was
also well known among the Catholic clergy for regular
contributions on church design to publications such as
Commonweal.
Looking back at the 1920's in Ireland, the society and
Catholic church would today be regarded as inward looking
and very traditional. The idea of a futuristic design by
a foreign architect would alone have fueled strong
opposition toward Dr. Cohalan. This, as it turned out was
only the start of many problems to come.
The first model of the Turners Cross church, was based
on a brick exterior/interior and featured a suspended
wooden ceiling. It was a development on a previous Byrne
design in Tulsa, Oklahoma (1926) and also represented the
more economic of solutions typically used in the US.
However this design was subject to an overall cost
restriction of £30,000 with £20,000 allocated
for the building and the remaining £10,000 kept for
the inner furnishings.
After some investigation, site supervising architect
J.R. Boyd Barrett reported that a brick and wood building
could not be accomplished on a £20,000 budget and
suggested that a complete concrete construction with
plaster ceiling would be more realistic.
Although somewhat reluctant to sacrifice the brick and
wood design, Byrne reworked his solution to use concrete
as the main construction material. The result would
involve the use of large sections of molded concrete
re-enforced for strength. Decorative features around
doors and windows would all be made from cast stone.
Basically, the stone mason was not a consideration.
The reissued model, depicted a new departure in Byrnes
style and the Church of Christ the King, became the first
Irish church ever built from concrete. The innovative
design and its use of concrete, was very likely the first
large-scale application of re-enforced concrete
construction in Ireland. We must remember that ready-mix
cement was unheard of at the time. It was a complete
shake-up of the building industry in Ireland.
Prior to construction, Barry Byrne and his wife,
Annette Cremin Byrne visited Cork to view the site and
meet with Dr. Coholan to discuss the final details of the
project.
Work began in March 1929 with foundations being
blessed on 21st July of the same year by Dr. Cohalan.
Initial problems were mostly in relation to the
foundation. The soft marsh-like terrain of the site was
no match for the heavy foundation. Before any walls could
be erected, the building contractor, John Buckley, had to
sink foundations some fifteen feet to reach a solid base,
well above the 5-6 feet estimations of Byrne. Other
issues included a strong opposition from the Society of
Stone Cutters and Marble Masons. Their anger related to
the selection of concrete as a base material and
instructed that the foundation stone "..shall not be
worked, as the building of the said Church is detrimental
to our trade"
A general building trade strike took place the
following year from May to August causing significant
delays in the project. The church did however open on
time on the Feast of Christ the King, October 25th 1931.
The selection of this date was likely to have been
influenced by the previous Byrne church of Christ the
King, Tulsa OK. It too was consecrated on the feast day
of the same name. However a hasty completion is evident;
some of the photographs indicate missing Terrazzo panels
on the altar reredos. The Stations of the Cross were also
unfurnished and an external fence was not erected for
some time.
On completion, the church never provoked much
admiration or criticism. Ireland was however, awoken to
the Art Deco movement in architecture. In years to
follow, many buildings depicting the styles of Lloyd
Wright and others would emerge in Ireland. Oddly enough,
the church construction practices in the UK & Ireland
would largely ignore these new styles. However the choice
of concrete as a raw material, would prove to be a major
influence.
Such was his delight with the results, Barry Byrne
would never again choose brick as his preferred material.
His later churches would perfect the use of concrete, not
only as a more versatile material, but as a cheap
alternative to brick.
Other than the pre-construction visit to Cork, Barry
Byrne never saw the finished building in person and it
remains the only church of his where he did not
personally supervise the construction.
In 1957, Turners Cross was designated an independent
parish by Bishop Cornelius Lucey. This coincided with the
construction of five new churches under the direction of
Bishop Lucey. Among these was a church for the newly
formed parish of Ballyphehane.
With the large South Parish now segmented, the Church
of Christ the King would never again serve the huge
masses for which it was commissioned. However its design
excellence and craftsmanship would stand the test of
time. Today the church retains most of its original
character and layout.
Several Irish architecture publications feature this
church and on an international scale, the only two Cork
churches to frequently feature in journals and books are
the Church of Christ the King and the Protestant
Cathedral of St. Finbarr.
The commission and construction of this church met
with strong opposition and its opening was received with
little or no appreciation. However if the people of Cork
or Turners Cross for that matter, can be accused of
under-appreciating such an architectural gem, then they
have certainly made up for it in recent times with a
renovation project costing several million Euro.
|