FOR THE FIRST time in 750 years, visitors will be able to see part of St Patrick’s Cathedral which has been closed to the public since the 13th century.
The Lady Chapel in the Dublin cathedral was used as a burial place for bishops and archbishops from when it was built in the 1270s up until the Reformation in the 16th century, and was subsequently used by the Huguenots and other congregations.
The chapel was built just 50 years after the cathedral itself was first constructed, closed to the well where Saint Patrick is supposed to have baptised converts.
The chapel has undergone a €700,000 refurbishment – including cleaning the stone work and dismantling, cleaning and remounting the stained glass – and will open to the public next week.
The Dean of the Cathedral, Reverend Victor Stacey, said that he hoped the chapel would become a tourist attraction.
The chapel will be officially opened by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan on Tuesday.
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