Dublin archdiocese drops plans to locate Dublin’s Catholic cathedral on city’s south side

Plans by Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese to have St Mary’s Pro Cathedral on Marlborough Street designated a basilica, with St Andrew’s on Westland Row becoming its cathedral, have been dropped.

On Monday Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell announced he was to ask Pope Francis to designate St Mary’s as the cathedral of the archdiocese as part of “a twin pillar strategy for the centre of Dublin” and to designate St Andrew’s “a minor basilica”.

It would also see St Andrew’s developed as the second part of the twin pillar strategy.

This, he said, “reflects the reality of distinct communities with different profiles of economic and social activity north and south of the Liffey”.

In June of last year, Archbishop Farrell announced that Vatican permission was to be sought to have the Pro Cathedral, north of the Liffey, elevated to the status of a basilica while St Andrew’s, south of the Liffey, would become the city’s cathedral. This planned change was due to “the limitations of the St Mary’s building and complex,” he said.

The “pro” prefix to the 200-year-old St Mary’s indicated its temporary status pending the building of a new Catholic cathedral in Dublin.

That announcement was followed by protests from people in Dublin’s north inner city at what they interpreted as a downgrading in the status of their local cathedral. The issue was taken up at meetings of Dublin City Council.

[ Pro Cathedral’s planned loss of status a ‘slap in the face’ for north inner city ]

On Monday Archbishop Farrell said the new proposed twin-pillar strategy was “not primarily about buildings or their status, but about the pastoral engagement for which St Andrew’s and St Mary’s will provide a base”.

Both, “by virtue of their location, history, capacity and networks, are appropriate pillars for this twin-pillar strategy. Both sites have long traditions of service to their local parish communities, to the archdiocese as a whole and to the cultural life of the city,” he said.