Motion on sale of palace defeated

A motion calling on the synod to "disapprove of the sale of the [Bishop's] Palace in Kilkenny in the present climate of dissent" was defeated by 209 votes to 99. The motion arose from opposition to a decision by the local diocesan council to transfer ownership of the palace as part of a deal with the Heritage Council.

Proposing the motion, Mr Johnny Couchman said the palace had been a home to bishops since 1453, "before the fall of Constantinople, before Martin Luther and before the Reformation."

He understood the deal involved the Heritage Council agreeing to build a new complex for the bishop at an estimated cost of £1 million.

But a local auctioneer has told him, about the palace, "God Johnny, knock it and I'll give you £3 million an acre." The palace was "in excellent order, largely due to Bishop Willoughby [the previous incumbent]", he said. "Why the rush? Why was it being sold at a fraction of the price?"

Canon Norman Ruddock wondered if Kilkenny Palace was to be sold, why not others. "Why not a modest maisonette in Montenotte for the Bishop of Cork or a tigeen in Tallaght for the Archbishop of Dublin?" The O'Morrough pointed out that the Kilkenny transfer decision was made by a vote of 41 to 23. "There is dissent, but it is not widespread dissent," he said, and "in normal democratic societies decisions taken are respected."

The chief officer, Mr Robert Stafford, told synod four architects' reports had been conducted on the palace prior to the decision and if the church was to respect the heritage value of the palace, it was a question of spending a huge amount of money.