One of our customers, O’Brien Brothers, have been involved with the very prestigious restoration of St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny. O’Brien Brothers have nearly a hundred years of experience in the fields of painting, decorating and restoration and have worked on both commercial and private projects. For the restoration of Kilkenny Cathedral they were involved in restoring the original decoration of the cathedral interior.
These pictures show the elaborate decoration on the ceiling of the cathedral. Due to being in continuous use for nearly two hundred years the ceilings had become blackened with soot from tallow candles. O’ Brien Brothers carefully cleaned and hand-painted the ceilings, bringing them back to their original red-brown splendour.
The ceiling also had a lot of moulded details and decorations. Each one has been gilded to a new, vibrant golden finish. All the gold used in this restoration was provided by us and quite a lot was needed to complete the whole restoration!
In addition to their decorating business O’Brien Brothers are also offering courses in marbling, graining, statue repair and painting, gilded frame repair and the restoration and repair of oil paintings. For more information on the dates of these courses, or on their other projects please visit their website at – obrienpainters.com