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Irish Times
9 hours ago
- General
- Irish Times
Benedictine monastery at Kylemore Abbey voted Ireland's favourite building at RIAI awards
The Benedictine monastery at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara , Co Galway , has been voted as Ireland's favourite building as part of this year's Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) awards. The monastery, designed by Mayo -based architect Michael Horan of Axo Architects, topped the ballot in the public choice category, for which 14,000 votes were cast. The monastery ' is a remarkable example of how thoughtful, context-sensitive architecture can enhance both place and purpose', said RIAI president Seán Mahon. '[It] demonstrates a deep understanding of heritage, landscape, and community, creating a space that feels both grounded in tradition and relevant to the present. READ MORE Benedictine Monastery at Kylemore Abbey. Photograph: Peter Molloy Benedictine Monastery at Kylemore Abbey. Photograph: Peter Molloy Benedictine Monastery at Kylemore Abbey. Photograph: Peter Molloy 'We are thrilled to see the public recognise and celebrate architecture that enriches lives and contributes meaningfully to a much loved natural landscape and environment.' On the edge of Pollacappul Lough, beneath the Duchruach Mountain and close to Kylemore Abbey, the new monastery 'harmoniously integrates with its dramatic surroundings', the RIAI said. 'Drawing on monastic traditions, the design evolves from a central garth and cloister, unfolding into a series of brick volumes of varying height and scale. The result is a serene and timeless structure that quietly complements its landscape through sensitive consideration of context, scale, materiality and visual harmony.' The monastery took first place out of 48 shortlisted projects with the Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant in Co Wicklow by Clancy Moore Architects in collaboration with Ayesha Engineers coming second. Scoil Naomh Bríd in Culleens, Ballina, Co Mayo, by SJK Architects took third place. The Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant is described by the RIAI as 'a pioneering piece of civic infrastructure that embodies public good', while it says the 12-classroom building at Scoil Naomh Bríd is 'filled with daylight, delight, colour and joy'. The redevelopment of the Dún Laoghaire Baths in south Co Dublin by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council architects and A2 Architects, which opened up a 400m stretch of coastline, came in fourth. The RIAI's awards ceremony will take place on Thursday evening at the Merrion Cricket Pavilion on Anglesea Road, Dublin 4, where the full list of winners from all categories will be announced. Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant Scoil Naomh Bríd, Culleens Scoil Naomh Bríd, Culleens Scoil Naomh Bríd, Culleens Scoil Naomh Bríd, Culleens
BBC News
12-05-2025
- BBC News
Selby Abbey awarded £1m cash boost for repairs
A Grade I listed abbey dating back to 1069 has been given a £1m grant for major repairs and to help tell the "largely untold stories" of its medieval Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, is one of eight places of worship in Yorkshire to have received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in the last six part of the project, the stained-glass St Germain Window in the North Transept will undergo restoration and a number of community events will take abbey's vicar, the Rev Canon John Weetman, said: "With the help of the National Lottery Heritage Fund we will be able to ensure that this wonderful abbey is preserved for future generations to enjoy." Originally a wooden complex, the abbey was rebuilt in the Romanesque style and has been extended and reconstructed over the centuries following instances of structural collapse and the dissolution of the monastery in 1539, it has operated as a parish of the funding will go towards an array of events such as willow weaving, stained glass and embroidery workshops, graffiti workshops (using site hoardings) and training in biodiversity-enhancing gardening practices linked to the monastic Weetman said: "We will be able to involve many more people from the local community and beyond in discovering how the abbey and the town came to be here, and how they developed during those early years of their history in medieval times." In the East Riding, Grade I listed All Saints Church in Hessle has been awarded £229,768 for the "Towering Presence" project, which will carry out critical repairs and deliver a programme of inter-generational Rev Gemma Turner, vicar of All Saints, said: "Not only does this save our historic 15th-Century tower, but it helps us to engage the whole community of Hessle in exploring not just the heritage of the church, but the town itself."Other places of worship to receive funding are St Thomas' Church in Osbaldwick, All Saints Parochial Church in Helmsley and St Martin's Church in Minster and Sir Moses Montefiore Memorial Synagogue in Grimsby have also been awarded Bradford Cathedral has been given funding to invite visitors during Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 to co-create a new tapestry using a loom installation. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
