9055188680?profile=RESIZE_584x

By Madhava Smullen

Ireland’s main temple, on the Hare Krishna island of Inis Rath – also known as Govindadwipa and located on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland – is set to undergo major renovations. These will include new deity worship facilities for the presiding deities of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda and new cottages for resident pujaris. Bedrooms in the temple will also be converted into guestrooms, set to open for retreat-goers in August 2022.

Inis Rath Island was originally owned by the earl Lord Erne in the mid-19th century, while the existing mansion was built during the Victorian era and used in the 20th century as a summer home for the local gentry. ISKCON devotees purchased the island in the early 1980s and opened the Hare Krishna temple there in 1986.

Plans have been underway for several years to give the facility much-needed renovations and to maximize its potential as a retreat center. Under these plans, seven bedrooms in the twelve-bedroom mansion are set to be converted into guestrooms. In more recent times, two of these rooms have been unoccupied due to structural issues, two used as storage rooms for deity paraphernalia, and the others used by temple pujaris and other resident devotees.

According to temple council member Manu Das, a new 70 square meter (753 square foot) storage area will be built behind Sri Sri Radha Govinda’s altar. The space will neatly house deity outfits, jewelry and decorative elements, and will be easily accessible from the altar for pujaris.

The new deity paraphernalia storage facility will free up three upstairs rooms to be returned to their original use from back when the temple was a Victorian mansion; as the three main bedrooms overlooking the vista onto the lake.

Meanwhile four other rooms will also be converted into guestrooms, while new quarters will be established for resident devotees.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/northern-irelands-krishna-island-temple-to-undergo-major-renovations,7853/

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!

Join ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT