In-spired . . . or just needled?
That's an artist's impression of what it could look like at night, when the is fitted to Belfast's St Anne's Cathedral. Construction work has begun and you can read updates . When it's completed in May, it will be possible to view the stainless steel spire from the inside and the outside of the Catheral. The cost of creating this new structure is £852,000. Dean Houston McKelvey believes the new addition to the cathedral will become a recognisable part of the skyline of Belfast.
The city's skyline is due to change considerably. Beyond the current image of the City Hall's dome and the shipyard' cranes, we'll soon have a spire of hope and Ireland's tallest building (taking that title away from Windsor House, one of Ireland's dullest buildings).
The Cathedral scheme has its inevitable detracters. Some members of the public are clearly a bit bemused that so much money should be spent to stick a needle in the top of a building. Pete Baker, over at Slugger, thinks the plan is "".
It's certainly a courageous development for the Cathedral. And I don't mean "courageous" in the sense intended when he used that word to frighten government ministers.
Belfast could do with more innovative approaches to architecture and design; we are much too conservative in our aesthetic tastes. We could also do with more public art -- at the moment, we've very little in addition to a few forgotten mayors in the grounds of City Hall. It's impossible to say whether the Spire of Hope will be successul. For that to happen the public will need to embrace the new structure as an important addition to our public space. But new spires, like new buildings, need time to "fill" their space. Andy Scott's (which I prefer to call "Nuala with the Hula") had its detractors too, but after only two years it has earned its place.
Comments
Is this really the best thing the cathedral could spend its money on? How about a poverty charity? I'm really not sure what Dean McKelvey is thinking,though the decision predates him. Nevertheless, he might have used his influence to save the city from this new carbuncle.
The money Jeffrey probably hasn’t been supplied by the COI most likely it has come from the National lottery through the Heritage Fund
I'm fine with "public" art - just don't ask me to pay for it.
SG
I think the most urgent thing to do now is give this new additon a nickname. Dublin has the Whore in the Sewer, the Floozie in the Jacuzzi, the Tart with the Cart (Molly Malone) So what's this gonna be?
The Prick in the ??
The Spire n' the Quire
The Pin n' the Sin
dunno
I think the most urgent thing to do now is give this new additon a nickname. Dublin has the Whore in the Sewer, the Floozie in the Jacuzzi, the Tart with the Cart (Molly Malone) So what's this gonna be?
The Prick in the ??
The Spire n' the Quire
The Pin n' the Sin
dunno
A NAIL IN THE COFFIN
It'll look great with a massive order of service spiked on the needle for special events.
This tower in the sky has nothing to do whatsoever with GOD or the Church of Jesus Christ, the imagination of man's heart is evil and the COI are only fooling themselves like the citizens of Babel, it won’t get them any closer to God or heaven it is a conspiracy against God’s Word to build this monstrosity on a supposedly Christian Church which is getting closer to the Church of the anti-christ day by day, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. Lord Carson will be turning in his grave. and then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves …………. a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves."
I wonder who thought out and had the Select Vestry of St Anne’s any input into this matter as it seems that the confusion of Babel had already set into the mindset of those conspirators against God’s word because this obelisk in the sky has nothing to do with the Church of Christ it has more to do with tourism and getting people into the City of Belfast rather than into the City of God.
The language of the COI has been confused for many years now with the confused message of ecumenism that it preaches and putting this Tower of Babal on top of the city’s COI Cathedral only rubber stamps this confusion. Our business is no longer Souls but Tourism.
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Crikey, Christian Hippy, that was out of the Top Drawer! Well done, dude (or dudess). William, it's a pity that your blog doesn't allow readers to vote quality points to authors of really insightful and reasoned posts.
The Tower of Babelfast for a new generation. No wonder nobody has a clue what people are talking about here. The God-Prod. St Anne's ithyphallic cathedral making lurve to Ba'al in the sky. We're all doomed, you know.
My own preference would have been an obelisk inscribed with hieroglyphs recording its dedication to Amun of Thebes, but then I still have that plan for the big chimney at the City Hospital, so all is not lost.
-Amenhotep
Christian Hippy (aka Billy) has clearly lost it. All that text and no actual argument against the spire. Would you like to tear down the spires from all church buildings Christian Hippy? Or just this one? Why?
I swear reading this I heard a cuckoo clock.
Nice one you are far too quick Ba-belfast
I like the spike. If you think of the sectarian conflict that has distinguished N Ireland as the last flares of the Wars of Religion that engulfed all of Europe three centuries ago, then a big spike through the centre of a major religious establishment has tremendous symbolic force. Like Dracula finally being impaled.
Perhaps the next symbolic sculpture could tackle the subject of segregated schools, with a bronze of children trapped in cages like veal crates? Dedicate it to all the forms of apartheid in our society.
Na, let's have a girl with a hula hoop instead.
I can guarantee you absolutely, based on the experience of the Dublin Spire, that this will never look like the photograph. It will not light up. It just won't.
I do like the one in dublin by the way, but it's pathetic at night.
An absolute disgrace to stick this carbuncle on top of a beautiful building. The whole look of the Cathedral has been ruined. Anyone who thinks it adds to the beauty of the building should open their eyes and really look at it!
I guess it's more pretty than the ghastly statues of saints atop Roman columns and Egyptian obelisks that we see dotted around Rome. Talk about desecration!