The 6 day trip to Ireland - Dublin (Day 5 afternoon) - St. Patrick's Cathedral - The 14th of June 2014

We then walked towards St. Patrick's Cathedral said to have been founded in 1191 and considered the larger of Dublin's church Cathedrals.

Jenie and Mia decided to stay in the park alongside it as I made my way into St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is recognised as having contributed much to Irish life throughout its long history. St. Patrick himself is said to have baptised converts to Christianity at a well that once existed (the well can be seen in the Cathedral). John Swift was dean from 1713 through to 1745. Handel's Messiah received its first appearance in Dublin in 1742 sung by the combined choirs of St. Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedrals.

The choir was really impressive with the first two rows of the stalls used for the choir and the third by the cannons of the Cathedral. One could see the banners and hatchments of the Knights of St. Patrick above.

I found the Lady Chapel, which is said to have been used by the Huguenots from 1666 to 1816 particularly beautiful. I don't know if it was the light or the layout of the chapel that really impressed me but something, I can't quite explain, did catch my attention.

Lady Chapel (right)

Living stones, considered the permanent exhibition of the Cathedral celebrates the Cathedral's place in the life of the city, its history and its role in a fast changing world. On the North Aisle one can see several busts and memorials, whilst on the South Aisle the focus lies on military memorials and the pulpit from which Jonathan Swift is reputed to have preached.

In the North Transept the main focus was on the Chapter Door, which is said to commemorate the amicable conclusion of the feud between the Earl of Ormond and Earl of Kildare in 1492. The Earl of Kildare is said to have cut a hole in the door and through it stretched out his arm to grasp the hand of the Earl of Ormond, his enemy who had taken refuge in the Chapter House. By having taken the initiative to reach out peace was restored.


Legend has it that St. Patrick's was at the origin of the expression "chancing your arm" (meaning to take a risk) when the 8th Earl of Kildare cut the hole and thrust his arm through it in an effort to call a truce in the Ormond.

 

I would have liked to stay longer as there seemed to be quite a lot to further explore but time was an impediment.

I walked out into the Cathedral's park to meet Mia and Jenie and get ready to continue exploring Dublin.