One of Ireland’s most iconic buildings, Galway Cathedral is lighting up this winter. Galway Cathedral is visited by thousands of people each year and the building is one of the most popular sights to be used on marketing and promotional material for Galway and the west.
The building is one of the city’s top attractions, helped no doubt by reviews in The Lonely Planet which state it is “ fantastic, with a beautifully decorated dome, attractive Romanesque arches, lovely mosaics and rough-hewn stonework emblazoned with copious stained glass. The superb acoustics are best appreciated during a thunderous organ recital. A notable side chapel contains a mosaic of the Resurrection with a praying JFK in the tableau. From the Spanish Arch, a riverside path runs upriver and across the Salmon Weir Bridge to the cathedral.”
This summer Galway Cathedral underwent a LED lighting facelift. The LED lighting investment system will ‘light up’ the main building from all angles. The cost of this project is €10,000 and Galway Cathedral is hoping that the venture can be crowd fund-raised.
“We realise the importance of this building to Galway, for religious and for tourism reasons,” explained Fr. Peter Rabbitte Galway Cathedral. “The church is steeped in history and this year alone we have seen thousands of visitors here. We want to showcase Galway Cathedral 24 hours a day, so that even tourists or local people who are passing it will get to really see it.
“Galway Cathedral takes on a different look depending on light, weather, and how it is captured on camera. We want to invest in the building so people who visit at any time of the year, day or at night just passing get to appreciate its stature and beauty,”
To find out more or to make a donation log onto www.ifundraise.ie/LightUpGalwayCathedral Galway Cathedral is open seven days a week with mass said each day. To connect on line, simply follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or at www.galwaycathedral.ie
