The Dublin firm of architects of Cathal O'Neill and Associates has been chosen to prepare a design for the controversial reordering of the sanctuary in St Colman's Cathedral in Cobh.
The proposals for change are too radical, according to the Friends of St Colman's Cathedral group, and would fundamentally interfere with the classic symmetry of one of the most important church buildings in the Republic.
The magnificent cathedral, which dominates Cork Harbour from land and sea, was designed by Pugin (the Younger), Ashlin and Coleman.
It took 47 years to build (1868-1915) and since then it has retained its imposing majesty as both a place of worship and a major tourist attraction.
It was the people of Cobh and the wider diocese of Cloyne who made the building of the cathedral possible. Some £90,000 of the overall cost of £235,000 was raised in the town itself while the remainder came from the diocese and voluntary subscriptions raised in the US.
Throughout its long history, the people of Cobh and the Cloyne diocese have assumed ownership of the building, it is "their" cathedral.
Now plans are afoot to alter the sanctuary area, making the cathedral more amenable to the modern liturgy and more inclusive for the worshippers who gather there.
Not everyone in Cobh is happy about this, and the Friends of St Colman's, who work through an unwieldly committee system and prefer to issue statements rather than discuss their grievances, believe that Bishop John Magee of Cloyne and his advisers have got it wrong.
The issue is whether the sanctuary should be brought forward into the nave, causing the removal of at least eight rows of church benches and the covering over of up to 85ft of original mosaic flooring.
This would necessitate the removal of a section of the existing alter rails and sanctuary gates, made, it is believed, by the workers at the now defunct Irish Steel plant across the harbour.
It would also involve the possible realignment of the Austrian oakwood pulpit, and the creation of a new altar in front of the imposing high altar to replace the makeshift and totally unsuitable hollow wooden one.
In its new setting, the extended sanctuary would bring the celebrant into the body of his congregation, according to Mgr Denis O'Callaghan, chairman of the sub-committee which selected the architects.
This would reflect the requirement of the modern liturgy that worship be a communal event, not one in which the priest and his people are separated, one being almost aloof from the other.
And for the architects who are now preparing a design for the reordering, he adds, the imperative is that the old sanctuary area and high altar must remain as they are, reflecting the dignity and tradition of the cathedral known to generations.
Whatever final plan emerges, it will be put into effect only after extensive consultation with the community, as Bishop Magee promised from the start, and all the new measures will be reversible.
In other words, St Colman's will lose none of its original fabric, and if there is a need at some future date to reinstate things as they were, it will be possible to do so, Mgr O'Callaghan says.
But the Friends of St Colman's believe that what is now proposed for the cathedral is merely a carbon copy of what is happening elsewhere in Ireland in the guise of Vatican II.
In one of its recent statements, the group questioned the liturgical expertise of Bishop Magee's advisers and said it would be an abuse of the restoration fund if money from it was used to bring in foreign members of the advisory committee.
The statement added: "It is very sad that so much interference in beautiful cathedrals and churches continues in Ireland today on the basis of Vatican II."
While the group has been critical of what it sees as a lack of consultation at official level with the concerned parishioners, Father Jim Killeen, director of communications for the Diocese of Cloyne, insists the diocese has offered to make its liturgical experts available to discuss the proposals, but the group has refused to meet them.
Mr Adrian O'Donovan, spokesman for the group, says that in the past he has been misquoted in some newspapers, and is prepared now to submit his thoughts in writing only, once he has consulted his committee.
Restoration work on St Colman's began a decade ago when it was found that the roof was leaking water.
The £4 million restoration project, of which the reordering of the sanctuary is the final element, then began. It included a new roof, under-floor heating and repair of the intricate stone work which attracted the late sculptor, Mr Seamus Murphy, to the cathedral at every chance he got.
The firm of Cathal O'Neill & Associates has previously worked on the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, and Prof O'Neill, a former head of the school of architecture at UCD, has served on the Committee of Sacred Art and Architecture for the Diocese of Dublin.
The cathedral, named after saint Colman (522-604) the patron saint of Cloyne, contains the largest carillon in Britain or Ireland, containing some 49 bells.