Sunny Liquid Dreams

June 14, 2009

My day did not begin early (again), but I left the house before lunch. UCD provided free bus tickets for the hop-on hop-off tour around Dublin, so I decided to spend the day wandering around Dublin.

My father and I had already taken the entire tour the day after we arrived in the city. However, we didn't get down at any stops (because of my sore feet). This time, I hopped on at the first stop on Cathal Brugha Street.

From there, the bus headed down O'Connell Street and across the river to the south side of Dublin.

The Great Liberator.

This is Daniel O'Connell, the man who gained Catholic Emancipation for Ireland. Catholics were able to sit at Westminster, among other things, as a result of his political career. He is so revered that there is an O'Connell Street in every city in Ireland. His street in Dublin is the main street, at the heart of the city, and his statue is the most elaborate one I have seen here. This is not his only statue of him in the city - there are many - but none as glorious as this one.

I took some other nice pictures of his statue, but it would consume too much space to post them all here. I'll upload them later.

This is the GPO, or General Post Office, on O'Connell Street. This is famous because Patrick Pearse, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916, read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic outside this building. One of the windows facing the street has a statue displayed behind it, to remember the leaders of the Easter Rising (who were later executed by the British in Kilmainham Gaol). 

The Stiletto in the Ghetto.

This is just one of the many nicknames for the Spire of Dublin, finished in 2003. It is 390 feet tall, and is somewhere in the middle part of O'Connell Street.

All of the pictures posted above were taken before I reached the bus stop. The tour stopped at many places that I have already seen or walked around. The first stop I wanted to hop off was for Dublin City Hall and Dublin Castle. My intention was to go see Dublin Castle and by mistake, I wandered into Dublin City Hall.

The ceiling of Dublin City Hall. The floor and walls had small mosaics and the bottom of the chamber above had statues, one of O'Connell. There was a museum/exhibit downstairs, but I didn't feel like learning more about Dublin's history, so I skipped it.

I did want to go inside Dublin Castle and visitors could pay for a guided tour. Dublin Castle is not really a castle (it's now more a hodgepodge of various buildings). But when I walked past the gate to go, I decided that instead of paying for the guided tour, I would just come back later. I was more interested in seeing the cathedrals, so I walked back to the main street and headed up towards Christ Church Cathedral.

The original Viking cathedral was built on this site in 1030 AD. The present shape of the cathedral comes from a rebuilding in 1180. There are small remains of the old church just outside the main cathedral.

The four pictures above are pictures of Christ Church Cathedral. I tried to get different angles but a lot of the shots don't look good. The first picture is my favorite of all the shots of the exterior. I didn't really plan that shot, but I do like how the dark clouds converge as a  "V" on the top of the cathedral.

The main hall of the cathedral. This is the first time I have ever been inside a cathedral and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I don't know much about Catholic traditions or many of the proper names, but I will try my best to describe what I saw. I picked up a little pamphlet that explained the layout of the cathedral and all the important areas.

A shot of the upper portion of the main hall. If you look closely, you can see something like a second floor in the small alcoves. I don't know if that can be accessed, but it looked nice.

A shot of the cathedral from the front of the main hall. Those windows are stained glass windows, but the color didn't show up in the photo.

A close-up of the stained glass windows. There were more inside the cathedral and each depicted a different story or scene - some about the local dukes, or leaders, others from stories from the Bible. Since I have long forgotten many things I learned in Bible class, I wasn't able to recognize many of them.

There were hallways that surrounded the entire main hall. This was taken from inside a hallway, looking out into the main hall. You can see all the chairs lined up in the upper right.

A close-up of the beautiful designs on the floor.  You can also see this in the previous picture.

This carving was part of the elaborate pulpit. This looking out towards the front of the main hall. You can see the cross and arches in the first picture.

A picture of the sanctuary and high altar area, at the very end of the main hall.  It is here that bishops, priests, and deacons are ordained. I don't know if that man in the picture was priest, bishop, or deacon. He was walking around the cathedral, preparing (I think) for the Sunday service. I was also able to talk to him (very briefly) about the preserved heart of the first archbishop of the cathedral, Laurence O'Toole, which hangs in a steel, heart-shaped case in the northeastern corner of the cathedral. I was unsure if I could ask questions, but he was very kind and very enthusiastic in his response.

The organ, which sits above the quire, or the area where the choir and archbishop sit. As you can see, I was able to spend time there when the organist was practicing. Later on, I was fortunate enough to listen to the choir practice a few songs. I recorded a short, half-minute portion of their practice on my camera.

Across the preserved heart of the first archbishop, there was a little stand with these small tea candles lit. There was also a basket of unlit candles beneath the stand. Visitors were able to light a candle if they desired. The note next to the stand was as follows:

Pilgrim, as you pass by, light a candle of hope for peace in our beloved land and throughout the world. Pray for peace in Ireland, peace in a world of conflicts, peace in your own heart, and may the peace of God go with you as you leave this hallowed place.

There was another poem hanging above the stand, but I forgot to record it. When I go back, I will get a picture. I lit a candle, placed it on the stand, and watched it burn for a little bit.

A picture of the sanctuary, taken from the side of the archbishop's chair. I like this picture because I wanted to capture the one missing light in a string of lit lamps.

I spent a long time at the cathedral and I didn't feel like leaving. There were other things to see: they had a small treasury and crypt beneath the cathedral. The crypt contained the graves of important people - people connected with the cathedral - but I didn't recognize many names. The treasury contained the relics of the cathedral - they were mostly old chalices, spoons, plates, and other items that were used in the old days. They are now preserved in glass cases for protection. Photos were not allowed to be taken downstairs, so I don't have any pictures of it.

I was a bit uneasy entering the crypt. It wasn't creepy, but it was very cold. I'm sure that people spent time in the crypt, but it was odd, knowing that the remains of people long gone were just behind the wall.

When I first entered the cathedral, I was seized with the desire to take off my shoes. Whenever we entire temples, we take off our shoes to show respect for God. I know that it isn't a tradition for Western religions, but wearing shoes just felt wrong when I was walking around the cathedral.

At the outset, I also felt a bit awkward entering the cathedral. I'm not Catholic and even though I've studied the Bible, this was a place of worship with history that I was wholly unfamiliar with. But I eventually became comfortable - it's peaceful and soothing inside - just walking around is calming.

But there is almost a tangible feeling of power inside the cathedral. We believe that prayers and worship give power to a certain place - whether it be a temple or a small sanctum inside a house. I felt something similar there - or perhaps it was just the knowledge that many people have prayed there. It feels like an old place and even though I can't know the personally know the religion, I might be able to understand common beliefs and traditions.

I'm glad I got to spend time inside - some places of worship are only open to worshippers of the same religion. I would like to attend a Catholic Mass one day. I just want to see what it is like, but I don't know if they would allow that. I would feel apprehensive to ask.

After I left Christ Church Cathedral, I hopped back on the bus to head towards St. Patrick's Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed to visitors for regular service, so I couldn't go inside. The bus driver did say that it would be open in half an hour, so I decided to finish the bus tour and take another bus back to St. Patrick's. The bus stopped at many places, including the Guinness Brewery and Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). I wanted to save the Brewery for another day and the jail was closed by the time I got there, so I didn't get down at any other stop. I might have been able to spend some time in Phoenix Park, but I really wanted to finish the cathedrals.

By the time the second bus came to St. Patrick's, the services were still going and the cathedral would close for the day. So I hopped back on and eventually got off at O'Connell Street. I walked back home and turned in for the evening in order to prepare for the beginning of my internship on Monday.