Dwindling congregation numbers are putting pressure on heritage religious buildings across Ireland, prompting those responsible for them to find new ways to generate income to preserve their structures. While attendance remains higher in rural communities than urban areas, churches depend on local collections, donations and fundraising to cover maintenance and running costs. Even where congregations remain relatively strong, the wider decline in churchgoers can leave historic buildings struggling to stay maintained.

Michael Doran knows the problem well. As chair of the pastoral council at the Church of the Assumption and St Laurence O’Toole in Rathangan, Co Wexford, he works with fellow members to identify and address parish priorities. When slates began slipping from the church roof in 2024, the council had a survey done.

“It was an awful lot worse than we actually realised,” says Michael. “It needed a full new roof.”

With Rathangan National School and St Anne’s GAA club beside it, and Rathangan’s Bar opposite, the church car park is frequently used as a drop-off point, meaning falling debris poses a health and safety risk. The parish council knew they had to act quickly, but the church’s listed status meant the work had to follow conservation guidelines, adding to the cost. They were quoted €1.3m – an unaffordable sum – and without it, the church risked closure on health and safety grounds.

Fundraising began in earnest, and when news of the efforts became known locally, a parishioner from a well-known farming family approached the council with a very generous offer – a donation of a 21.5ac organic farm. The land was sold at online auction on 29 September for €227,000 (see page 32 for the auction report).

“It’s very humbling that someone would actually be prepared to come forward with a gesture like this,” says Michael. “It gives us heart.”

Further fundraisers are lined up, including a restored tractor being raffled by the local vintage club at the end of October. The council has also made the difficult decision to sell the parochial house.

“We don’t have a resident priest anymore, and it’s very unlikely that we will. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we want to preserve and protect the church. If we’re fortunate enough to have a priest in years to come, we can always build another house. But if the church falls down, we’ll never replace a structure like that.”

For Michael, it’s about more than saving the church; it’s about protecting the heritage and survival of a historic building for future generations.

“I don’t know what it will be used for in 100 years’ time. But if the roof is protecting the building, it will still be a structure of significance in the community. Whether it’s used for concerts or meetings or whatever, it will still be a facility within the community.”

Protecting heritage

At St Canice’s Cathedral in Co Kilkenny, income from tourism, events and community activities helps support the historic building’s upkeep. Dating from 1285, the Church of Ireland cathedral remains an active place of worship, holding multiple services each week.

The site also includes Kilkenny’s oldest standing structure and Ireland’s only accessible medieval round tower, dating back to the 9th century.

Anne-Marie Hallinan is general manager of St Canice’s. After a career in hospitality, she moved from hotels to heritage, joining Kilkenny Civic Trust eight years ago, before taking up her position at St Canice’s in 2022. Her role is to identify revenue streams that complement the church’s day-to-day operations and help fund its running costs.

We don’t have a resident priest anymore, and it’s very unlikely that we will. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we want to preserve and protect the church. If we’re fortunate enough to have a priest in years to come, we can always build another house. But if the church falls down, we’ll never replace a structure like that

St Canice’s journey towards commercial revenue has been gradual. The cathedral has been an iconic venue for the annual Kilkenny Arts Festival since its inaugural event in 1974. In the 1990s, parishioners placed a cash donation box inside the cathedral entrance to see what would happen. Visitors donated, marking the beginning of a more commercial approach to generating income.

“It has grown over that period of time,” says Anne-Marie. “In the last 10 years, [we’ve been] trying to modernise the heritage of the building to deliver on the customer experience and visitor experience.”

Several major conservation projects have been undertaken at St Canice’s since Anne-Marie took up her position. Two years ago, work was carried out on the roof, while the stained-glass windows are being repaired pane by pane, with each requiring inspection and conservation every 100 years. The main focus at present is the organ, alongside the continual upgrading of the building.

“We have lighting, we have plumbing, we changed the boiler last year,” she says.

While Anne-Marie makes use of funding from the Heritage Council, county council and community funds, this alone is not enough to cover the cathedral’s ongoing maintenance and running costs.

“You can’t just go in if something goes wrong, it’s not as easy as calling the builder out to fix it. You have to be very mindful of how you’re doing that work.”

Anne-Marie has been working to broaden the visitor experience at St Canice’s, looking beyond those who come to see its historic architecture and finding new ways to attract people to the site.

“We have the only accessible medieval tower that you can climb in the country. It’s 121 steps to the top to get that 360 view of [Kilkenny] and people love that.

“It crosses a lot of generations, people from young to old can climb it. So, if you’re churched out of it, or you’ve had enough of the history, you can do an activity and climb.”

Exhibitions

Exhibitions and events are another area of development. The Red Book of Ossory, a medieval manuscript written by Bishop Richard de Ledrede at St Canice’s in the early 14th century, was discovered in the cathedral library 30 years ago. It was later taken to Dublin for conservation but has since returned to St Canice’s.

A replica was exhibited for 18 months, helping to raise the cathedral’s local profile. Following its success, Anne-Marie began exploring other exhibition ideas. In March 2025, they hosted Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon, a seven-metre illuminated model of the moon suspended from the crossing. The positive reception, Anne-Marie says, demonstrated the potential for exhibitions of this kind.

“The eye-opener for us was that this kind of stuff can work at the cathedral. It doesn’t encroach on the day-to-day ecclesiastical side of things, and it doesn’t encroach on our visitor experience.”

They are currently hosting Peter Walker’s Peace Doves, an installation featuring 10,000 messages of hope written by people locally and afar, suspended throughout the cathedral until 7 November.

When it closes, preparations will begin for the Luxmuralis light show, which runs from 11-19 December. A key focus for Anne-Marie has been engaging the local community, not just as visitors but by opening up St Canice’s for civic and community use.

She helped develop an education programme for children and adults, offering courses in drawing, plein air painting, tile-making, genealogy and more.

The space is also available to hire for corporate events and gala dinners.

What’s next for St Canice’s?

“More of the same,” says Anne-Marie.

“It’s about keeping the building alive basically. This is why we do what we do.”