The Organ Refurbishment Project was officially launched on Sunday September 19th 2021, with a projected finish date of September 2024, giving us 3 years to complete the task.
The last major work undertaken on the organ was over 60 years ago in 1961, when it had some refurbishment work including moving the console to its present position in front of the choir. In 1998 some further work was carried out, mainly cleaning and necessary repairs. Now the time has come for more extensive work to be done. A number of options were considered and it was decided to refurbish as much as possible of the existing instrument, replacing parts that needed it and upgrading where necessary.
We are delighted to announce that, after a lengthy process of seeking proposals and tenders from various organ-building companies, we have chosen the highly-respected and experienced Carlow-based organ builder Stephen Adams for the project.
We are very fortunate that the organ, a Victorian Forster & Andrews, was constructed by excellent craftsmen. This craftsmanship means that most parts can be retained and, with adjustment, can improve the capabilities of the organ, enabling it to play an even wider range of music. It is intended to reuse and recycle parts where possible.
The cost of the refurbishment project will be €125,000, of which over €90,000 has already been raised. We are confident that, with your help and support, we can raise the remaining monies over the 3-year life of the project.
The Organ Refurbishment Committee will continue to run fundraisers over the coming months and we hope that you and your friends will give these your support. We will post regular updates here on the page so please do check in regularly.
You can click on our information leaflet here and our Adopt-A-Pipe application form here and if you have any queries, please feel free to email us at rathfarnhamparishorganfund@gmail.com
Thank you for your support.
Leaflet
Form
Organ Fund reaches €90,000!
We are absolutely delighted to announce that Rathfarnham Parish Organ Refurbishment Fund has been awarded a further grant of €15,000 from the Built Heritage Investment Scheme as recommended by SDCC. The fund has now reached €90,000, taking us within sight of our total with the Winter Fair still on November 18th still to come.
Photos below are from Thursday March 10th 2022, Colm Brophy, Fine Gael TD for Dublin South-West and Minister for Overseas Development Aid & Diaspora, visited Rathfarnham accompanied by parishioner and former councillor Paula Donovan, to be given a tour of the organ and the work in progress by the OR Committee.
