3. And Even More St. Patrick's: St. Patrick's Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

After leaving St. Patrick's College, we took the bus to O'Connell St., one of the main thoroughfares of the city, then walked over to eat fish and chips at Leo Burdocks. For whom is O'Connell Street named? We then walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral though the Temple Bar area via beautiful Christ Church Cathedral. It is one of two Protestant cathedrals in Dublin, with the other being St. Patrick's. It is very unusual to have two cathedrals together because these were the seats of the bishops as Catholic Churches. However, in Dublin, Christ Church was inside the city walls and St. Patrick's was outside. I noticed that Christ Church looked very Norman in style and found out that it was begun in 1172 by Strongbow, a Norman baron, so that explains why. We didn't go inside but the photos of the cathedral are lovely.

Paige at Christ Church Cathedral

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Walking down a steep hill, we arrived at St. Patrick's Cathedral. St. Patrick is, of course, closely tied to Ireland. While lots of stories have been written about him, many which may be legends, he was an actual person and was responsible for introducing Christianity into Ireland in the 400s. Supposedly, he was baptized from a well near the present day cathedral and there is a carved stone well cover in the cathedral that is reputed to have been the cover for that well. St. Patrick's Day actually commemorates the day of his death. Can you think of a story that is associated with St. Patrick?

The original cathedral was begun in 1192. I am always in awe when I think of the tools and technology with which these cathedrals were built and the time-sometimes centuries-that it took to build them. I love Ken Follett's book, Pillars of the Earth, which explains some of the processes. It was a cloudy, cold day when we visited, so the inside was pretty dark and cold. There are wooden chairs for the congregation with beautiful needlepoint kneelers. When it was built, the congregation would have mostly been standing. Of course, after Henry the Eighth's Act of Supremacy and Cromwell's subsequent actions, all Catholic cathedrals, churches and abbeys became Protestant and were often desecrated. Many of the decorations that were once in St. Patrick's are missing or vandalized, and Cromwell actually stabled horses inside the cathedral. The cathedral was restored primarily due to the Guiness family, who have been great benefactors in Dublin and throughout Ireland.  There are beautiful windows, statues, and memorials. One memorial is to the family of Robert Boyle. For what is he remembered?

One interesting thing to see is the tomb of Jonathan Swift who was Dean of the cathedral in the 1700s and a great friend to the Irish people. Swift was born in Ireland to English parents and was educated at Trinity College, but as a Protestant, might have been expected to be more sympathetic to the view of the ruling country. He was not. His Gulliver's Travels was written as a satire on British government and society.  I used to assign my students portions of Swift's  Modest Proposal to read. In it, he proposes a solution to Ireland's overpopulation and hunger problem by selling Irish babies to serve as food and goes through very logical reasoning as to why this would be an excellent solution.

I'd like to add to Dr. Santoli's fascinating background information. I feel the history of people is  important to preserve and fascinating to discover (at a personal as well as civilization level). It is often only through the surviving artifacts, such as the visual arts, architecture, and literature, that events are documented and we learn about past generations. It is also important to remember the layers of filters the information passes through over time, including the perceptions of the creators and the interpretations of the viewers. ~Dr.V

With that in mind, my question is: Have there been any "artifacts" in your life which have revealed information about the past? What were your perceptions?

South Paw at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland