What I would like to know is WHY? Why the anniversary of a terrorist attack in New York, why not the anniversary of terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland, why not McGurk’s Bar (4th December 1971), why not The Abercorn Restaurant (4th March 1972), why not Belfast's Bloody Friday (21st July 1972), why not Claudy (31st July 1972), why not La Mon Hotel (17th February 1978), why not Enniskillen (8th November 1987), why not Omagh (15th August 1998), why not select a date some time during the year to remember all of the victims of terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland and dedicate the spire on that date to the people of Northern Ireland?
Dean McKelvey of St. Anne’s Cathedral says that the spire ‘fits in well with the existing cathedral building’ but I would like to know how he has arrived at that conclusion. When I view it from the bus on the way to work all I can see is 4 (large) pieces of metal bolted together looking, for all the world, like the chimney flue of a central heating boiler. To describe it as a needle gives it the semblance of grace and elegance that it does not possess. It would probably look a whole lot better if it was one continuous piece of metal or at least gave the appearance of being one continuous piece of metal. The architecture of the cathedral is neo-Romanesque and the interior has exquisite mosaic works with a floor made of stone brought from all over Ireland – so how, in the name of all that is holy, does this huge lump of junk fit in well with the existing cathedral building? I did read somewhere that this one of the cheaper projects submitted - which would explain a lot.
Now! - this is a spire.
