Cllr Aidrian Henchy has said he is pleased with the announcement by Fingal County Council who have appointed James Oliver Hearty & Sons to carry out conservation works at Stella’s Tower and St Catherine’s Church Ruins, Portrane.
He said, “These essential repair works are being fully funded by the Council under an annual programme of work related to the restoration of historical buildings. The works are intended to stabilise, repair, and protect the structures and will mainly involve masonry repair and consolidation.These conservations works were a key objective in the Fingal County Development plan for Portrane. I have been consistently raising that these works are completed, and I am very pleased to see that they are finally getting underway.”
The Councillor said, “The conservation works on Stella’s Tower (Bob’s Castle) and St Catherine’s Church Ruins is very good news for Portrane. It is critically important that Fingal County Council continues to work on maintaining the heritage and history of all our local towns and villages and these much needed works in Portrane will help to achieve that objective.The preservation of the history and archaeological of both Stella Tower(Bob’s Castle) St Catherine’s Church Ruins sites in Portrane is an important objective within the Fingal Development plan. The necessary works on these medieval sites will stabilise them and protect them for future generations to enjoy and learn from.It is important that our historic monuments that are ruins in the landscape are consolidated and conserved. The works to be undertaken in Portrane will achieve this and are greatly welcomed. Works are programmed to commence in early November and will continue until February 2021. The works will proceed during normal working hours to minimise disruption to the public. Members of the public should refrain from visiting the sites during the works.”
Stella’s Tower is the locally known name for the tower as Jonathan Swift’s ill-fated ‘Stella’ lived there for a short time. Both structures are recorded archaeological monuments and protected structures in the ownership of the Council.
