Plan to turn St Werburgh’s into a venue

Dublin City Council unveiled its strategy for converting the vacant St Werburgh’s church into a 250-seat arts venue last month. 

The 18th-century protestant church has been vacant and in a state of “disrepair” for a while, with the council now proposing a plan for how they will make the repairs.  

“Although it has gone through difficult times and hasn’t been in sacred use for, I would say, almost more than 20 years,” Dublin city council arts officer Ray Yeates said to councillors at a committee last month. 

The church will be converted into a tourist destination that will host classical music, organ recitals, poetry readings, lectures, and folk and jazz performances. 

The council believes that the conversions could address the shortage of venues for small-scale orchestras and choirs.  

According to Yeates, the dean of Christ Church approached the council to convert the church a while back and the idea has been floating around for years.  

A council report outlining the plans stated that the church’s repairs will operate as a tourist spot and venue “while continuing to facilitate occasional religious services.” 

The old sexton’s house at the back of the church will be converted into a reception area, and a new set of toilets will be in the open outside area nearby.  

St Werburgh’s is seen as an architectural marvel that features one of the last untouched medieval graveyards, which will have better access after the refurbishments.  

The inside seating and architecture will remain mostly unchanged, and minor refurbishment of any damaged seating and integral structures is planned to make the venue safe while being unintrusive.  

The next step is for the plans to be submitted and approved – when that will happen is unclear.