Tullamore-made candles light a cleaner future for NY cathedral

Duffy & Scott Candlemakers in Tullamore on Wednesday last welcomed representatives from St Patrick's Cathedral in New York, in the wake of the US church switching to using unique clean-burning shrine candles designed by the local candle factory in recent months. The new candles invalidate any safety concerns relating to church candle shrines, and also avoid blackening church decor over time. Representatives from the New York church, which sees over a million candles lit by visitors each year, visited to witness their candles being made in-house at the Tullamore candle factory. Referring to Duffy & Scott's contract with the US church and this week's visit, joint MD of Duffy & Scott Colin O'Carroll said it was a good news story for the town as well as the company. "It's a wonderful opportunity," he said. "It puts us on the map; it puts Tullamore on the map." The idea for the company's ground-breaking new church candle was developed over the last five to seven years. Traditionally, Mr O'Carroll explained, church shrines used penny candles before later switching to candles with plastic containers. Those plastic containers have to be disposed however, which for busy churches can be quite a job. The new Duffy & Scott candles consisting of just wax and a wick are part of a completely new church shrine system, which includes a shrine stand designed by St Killian's church candles in Tipperary. "As candle manufacturers we'd be very aware of safety and what the design of a stand should be," Mr O'Carroll said. "What we have now is a new system. "The soot emission from the new candle is practically zero," Mr O'Carroll continued. "In today's world that brings with it two very positive results. One is that the air quality in the church is maintained and the other is that the inner decor isn't blackened as quickly as it has been before." The process for making the new candle was developed at the Tullamore factory over a period of 18 months and included having a bespoke production system designed and built in Germany. "This is the only facility that can make these candles," Mr O'Carroll said. "It's accurate to say it's a world first." The new shrine system is currently being installed in churches all over Ireland and wider Europe. St Patrick's Cathedral in New York is the first US contract however. The announcement that the church was to switch over to the new shrine candles was made last St Patrick's Day, with a total switchover completed last November. "It's the biggest church account in the US," Mr O'Carroll said of the church that sees over five million visitors each year. "Every candle burnt in St Patrick's Cathedral in New York is manufactured in Duffy & Scott in Tullamore. The church has millions of visitors per annum so you're talking about millions of candles." Mr O'Carroll described the new business for Duffy & Scott as hard work, but very helpful in helping to consolidate the business in a difficult environment. "In the current climate we've all seen a very difficult recession hit Ireland," he said. "It's hugely important that companies who are looking to work their way through this recession explore their options outside the Irish market."