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Architect's wife reveals role in iconic chapel 15.07.08

IT STANDS as one of Ireland's most iconic buildings but Burt chapel might have looked altogether different had it not been for the architect's wife, it's been revealed.
Joy McCormick, widow of Liam McCormick told the launch of a major exhibition of her late husband's work, how St. Aengus Chapel "dominated their lives".
The couple had not been long married when Liam revealed he was under severe pressure about the design of the circular structure.
"Liam said he was being bullied so much by everyone not to have an off-centre roof," she told the pre-launch seminar.
When it looked like he might cave in to the pressure, Joy told him, in no uncertain terms, that she may have chosen the wrong husband "if he was someone who was going to give in so easily".
And so the off-centre copper roof
Architect Tarla McGabhann with Joy McCormick at the launch of North by North West - an exhibition of the late Liam McCormick's work.
remained and became part of the design that would one day be named 'Building of the Twentieth Century'.
Joy's personal insights into the work of her acclaimed husband provided an amusing and informative backdrop to the launch on Saturday of North by North West, a retrospective of McCormick's work, now showing at the new Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny. The exhibition and accompanying book of the same name, chronicle the work of the man described as the "father of modern church architecture in Ireland". McCormick was one of only a handful of Irish architects to attract an international reputation and during his long career he built more 30 churches. He also designed residential properties including a seaside retreat for Nobel Laureate Dr. John Hume, who performed the official opening.
Meanwhile, the impressive Regional Cultural Centre, designed by McGabhann Architects, was also, quite fittingly, officially opened on the same day.
Architect Tarla McGabhann, who was greatly inspired by McCormick's work, gave a presentation outlining the influences and inspiration behind McCormick's Donegal chapels including Creeslough, Glenties and Desertegney as well as others further afield including Fossa in Killarney, Co Kerry.
Meanwhile, Joy described how she met the architect when her father, a Church of Ireland minister, was posted to Moville. They honeymooned in a little-known Canary island called...Lanzarote, when it had only one hotel and they settled in McCormick's beloved ancestral home by the sea in Greencastle. She said her husband was a "great romantic" who loved sailing and the sea. She joked that the most important things in his life were boats, architecture and family...in that order.
For more pictures from the Regional Cultural Centre click here.
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