Glass restoration work begins at Strabane church

THE latest step in restoring a beloved Strabane landmark to its former glory began in earnest last week, as work to restore the stained glass windows in the Church of the Immaculate Conception get underway.

Scaffolding inside the church was erected last week in preparation for the windows behind the altar and east window to be carefully removed, restored and reset alongside any structural damage to the stonework surrounding it. This is the latest in a series of improvements to the church which has included work on lighting both inside and out and a heritage museum.

Project co-ordinator of the restoration, Lorraine Gallen has welcomed the beginning of the process, which she hopes to be completed by Christmas.

She commented, “Last week the scaffolding was beginning to get erected although it isn’t fully completed as yet; we still have to get the sheeting and shuttering in place so that the area looks in some way aesthetically pleasing to congregants and people visiting the church. The church will not shut down during the process; mass, baptisms, weddings, funerals and any other aspect of church life contained within the building will go ahead as normal as it can be made.

“When the scaffolding is secure, we will look at having the glass taken out where it will be photographed, documented, cleaned and restored. Whilst the glass is out, a team of stonemasons will work on making sure that the stonework surrounding the windows is meticulously secured before the glass is ready to come back and be reinserted, making the beautiful stained glass in our church a lot brighter and fully restored for future generations.”

Lorraine would also like to issue sincere thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Churches Trust and the entire Strabane community for their continued support in the group’s endeavours.

She concluded, “This is a two-tier project which is coming along very nicely. Unfortunately we know that the weather can be unpredictable, as can construction, but the aim is to have the windows in place before the year is out so the church can once again be enjoyed in all its splendour.”