Naas Presbyterian church community celebrate restoration project

A special thanksgiving service took place on Sunday last, marking the completion of a conservation and restoration project at the Presbyterian church, Market Square, Naas.

The church building dates from 1867. It’s a preserved structure so expert input was needed and conversation architect Laura Bowen of Kilcullen oversaw the work.

“From April to June people probably wondered what was happening to the meeting house because it was boarded up and surrounded in scaffolding.” said minister Mark Proctor. The windows were in a bad state of repair with flaking paintwork and rotting flames and many panes of glass were either cracked or missing. There were problems with the roof, guttering and pointing of the walls allowing water in to damage the internal plasterwork.

“All of this needed to be put right and had become quite urgent but contractors with the necessary expertise and experience were had to find,” added minister Proctor. The work - managed by MacLyn Conservation Joinery (Dublin) - saw windows removed, restored and reinstalled; walls repointed and voids filled. There were repairs to the roof and much of the cast iron guttering was replaced. Inside, large areas of render were removed and replasteredr. The work cost €80,000 and was funded from a number of sources including Presbyterian central funds, a similar grant from the Dublin & Munster presbyterian and a gift from Legacurry Presbyterian Church, near Lisburn as well as the congregation’s own finances. “It was a massive project for a small congregation we were able to continue meeting Sunday by Sunday for 11am worship service, as did the Church of God (a Brazilian congregation) on Saturdays,” he added. A congregation member paid for the repainting of the doors and railings.