Contemporary Irish church architecture [first edition]

The history of modern church architecture in Ireland goes back as far as the construction of Turner's Cross Church, Cork. Although this building did not have the impact it clearly deserved, the arrival of such a dramatic modern church on the Irish scene did not go unnoticed. Between this time and the advent of the Second Vatican Council, churches worthy of note are few in number. Nevertheless during the fifties and sixties, the ground was being prepared for the major church building programme brought about by social and economic development. The epoch-making changes in the liturgy at that time demanded a new environment and new ways of presenting the image of the Church in the world. These were the major problems that architects were called upon to solve. The high quality of many modern Irish churches has not been sufficiently recognised: similarly, the significant contribution in the field of Sacred Art by Irish artists and craftsmen. The authors of this book examine forty churches and trace the development of church architecture in Ireland from 1937 through to the present day. The book includes a number of new Dublin churches, built to respond to the huge population growth in the outer suburbs of the city. Austin Flannery, OP contributes an in-depth review of the historical development of modern church architecture and liturgy on a worldwide scale. The book is superbly illustrated by way of drawings and photographs and also contains commentary and appraisal of each church building.