Our second day of pilgrimage began with the celebration of Eucharist in the classical-style St Andrew's Church, which currently hosts the cathedra of the Archbishop of Dublin while the St Mary's Cathedral is closed for two years of renovations and restorations.
The church building dates back to 1832., and it's a beautiful church, in its own way. The church has played a significant role in Irish history, and has been associated with many notable figures, including Irish revolutionaries and literary figures. Its location in the heart of Dublin has made it a witness to significant historical events.
At the completion of Mass in St Andrew's, we embarked on a tour of Dublin City, particularly of the Georgian Squares which are such a feature of the city's layout. As part of this tour we visited two riverside features that date back to the Great Famine that plagued and desolated Ireland.
Along the quayside on the Liffey, the Famine Statues are a striking and haunting reminder that the Great Famine impacted everyone in the country who happened not to be British. This singular event in Irish history cut the population of Ireland from eight million to four million, through death or emigration, and the country has never really recovered. The population of Ireland now sits around seven million people.
Just along from the Famine Statues is the Jeannie Johnston, a replica of the original now moored on the Liffey, was one of many similar vessels that facilitated the emigration of Irish men, women, and children from the shores of the island of Ireland to Canada and the United States. The difference between the Jeannie Johnston and other similiar vessels, however, is that the master of the ship was a Christian man who was not comfortable with the sometimes profiteering nature of shipowners who saw emigrants as cargo to bring profit rather than as people who should be cared for.
The ship's captain took it upon himself, and his own purse, to buy in extra rations, to provide a medical presence on the ship, to ensure passengers were allowed up on deck regularly, and generally were treated as human beings and noy cargo, As a result, in all the trips across the Atlantic, not a single life was lost.
Much of the history of contemporary Ireland is found in the regular clash of both culture and governance, and a visit to the GPO Museum on O'Connell Street sets that history out clearly, tracing the timeline that led specifically to the 1916 Easter Rising which, while a defeat for the Irish rebels, was also a loss for the British forces that opposed them.
The 1916 Rising was a prime motivating force that led, ultimately, to independence and the establishment of the Republic of Ireland.
As far as I am concerned, a visit to Dublin would be incomplete unless one visits Trinity College Dublin and the Book of Kells of which it is the custodian.
The Book of Kells features the four gospels, richly and ornately illustrated in a distinctive Celtic style, and is, in my humble opinion, one of the great treasures of Christianity and of Ireland. Of particular interest on this particular visit to the Book of Kells was the page that was on display: that of the Virgin Mary and Child as featured in the Gospel of Matthew, illustrated with very significant overtones of Eastern Christian iconography - which tied neatly into a book I'm working my way through across the course of this particular pilgrimage.
The other noticeable 'improvement' since my last visit to the Book of Kells some eight years ago is the construction of the Red Pavilion that both enhances the exhibition of the Book of Kells and the other significant feature of the Trinity College Dublin Library: The Long Room.
The Long Room, of course, is the famous 'upper room' of the library building that is bibliophile's true delight. Although the books are no longer stored there, and indeed although the building will close in October 2027 for some necessary renovations, the space is simply wonderful and emblematic of the Irish love of learning and education.
Now also the 'nation's front room' where celebrities and VIPs of all sorts are welcomed, the Long Room also features exhibitions on suitable subjects, at the present moment featuring "Gulliver's Travels" as the celebration of the 300th anniversary of its original publication.
Wandering the specific buildings that house the Book of Kells and the Long Room makes one yearn to study at Trinity...a dream perhaps, but it's always good to dream.
