Iconic cross bent but not broken

The Church of the Ascension in Cork city has been “inundated” with goodwill since its iconic cross was damaged during Storm Franklin.

The cross, which can be seen from all over the city, endured gusts upwards of 130km/h during the storm which uprooted trees and downed power lines across the city and county. A GoFundMe campaign started by the Parochial Hall in Gurranabraher has already raised close to €2,000 in donations for repairs that are expected to commence before the weekend.

Speaking to the Cork Independent, Gurranabraher Parish Priest Fr Tom Walsh said the cross, which reaches approximately 80ft off the ground, will be repaired where it lies and will not need to be taken down.

“That cross is going about 15ft from roof level up but it's also going through the roof about ten feet down and is embedded in concrete,” explained Fr Tom.

He said the “backbone” of the cross is secure but that the casing around it had been damaged by the storm.

Fr Tom added that, having already been examined by an engineer, he expects repair work on the cross to begin shortly.

He said: “The priority now is that it causes some risk until we get the casing down and hopefully there will be scaffolding going up in the next day or two. It has withstood some ferocious storms because even at ground level here in Gurranabraher, it can be quite windy, so you can imagine up that high.”

Fr Tom said the parish has received a huge amount of goodwill from the people of Cork and beyond since the damage was done.

“We have been inundated really since Sunday by people from all over the city expressing their sorrow and wishing us well and hoping that we'll restore the cross,” he said. To donate to the GoFundMe campaign, visit gofundme.com and search Ascension Cross Gurranabraher.