On this day in 1975, the 800-year old Holycross Abbey was officially re-opened after an extensive restoration project which took five years.
The Abbey of Holy Cross was founded to house a fragment of the True Cross given to the O'Briens of Thomond by Pope Pascal II. The abbey and the relic were entrusted into the care of the Cistercians. Following the Cromwellian invasion in the 17th century, the Abbey fell into ruin.
The restoration project cost around £300,000. Local craftsmen, masons and labourers from surrounding areas were employed to carry out the restoration. The inside of the Abbey was taken down to the bedrock showing the original foundations and the slope of the 15th century floor. The restoration was very faithful to the original. All materials used such as the oak, slates and slabs were mainly from Irish sources. A new altar, ambo and chair were designed for the chancel.
The Ormond Relic of the True Cross was gifted back to the Abbey by the Ursuline Nuns, Blackrock, Cork. Three thousand people gathered for the reopening on 5 October 1975. Those in attendance at the ceremony included the Papal Nuncio, Most Rev Gaetano Alibrandi, government ministers and opposition TDs including Jack Lynch and Charles Haughey. The concelebrants of the mass were Archbishop Morris, Bishop Michael Russell of Waterford, Bishop Tomas Ryan of Clonfert, Right Rev Dom Colmcille O'Toole the Abbot or Roscrea Abbey, Right Rev Dom Augustine O'Sullivan Abbot of Glenstall Abbey and Fr Patrick Lynch, Parish Priest at Holy Cross.
Sources:
http://www.holycrossabbey.ie/holycross-abbey/restoration/....
https://www.rte.ie/.../1163727-holy-cross-abbey-restored/
