A white steel cross is put in place at the Phoenix Park site where Pope John Paul II will celebrate Mass.
Designed by Ronnie Tallon of Irish architectural firm Scott Tallon Walker, the thirty-five metre high cross weighing thirty-five tonnes was built in conjunction with engineers Ove Arup and Partners.
Round the clock shifts for workers in the Inchicore steelworks where it was constructed meant it was completed in six weeks.
High winds delayed the erection of the cross into its supporting concrete chamber yesterday, but calmer conditions prevail this afternoon, and Dublin’s Archbishop Dermot Ryan and architect Ronnie Tallon look on as the cross, which can be seen from as far away as the Naas Road, is lifted into place.
It will certainly dominate proceedings visually when the Pope says Mass in the Phoenix Park.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 13 September 1979. The reporter is Kevin O'Kelly.
