MORE ABOUT IRELAND

    Daniel O’Connell, 1775, is considered the liberator of Ireland. After securing the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829 the lawyer was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin. As a young boy he watched the British shoot his uncle because he owned a horse worth more than the allowed five pounds which he refused to give up. This event was no doubt a big factor in his drive for Catholic emancipation. There are several memorials and statues around Dublin of O’Connell who died in 1847. His heart is buried in Rome and his body is buried in Glasnevin.

 

  The 305 foot-long St Patrick’s Cathedral, founded in 450 A.D. and built in 1192, is the largest church in the country and is the National Cathedral of Ireland. The church was restored in 1860 with Guinness monies. The organ dates to 1902. The present structure dates from 1254. Inside the floors are done in geometric designs using 4-inch tiles. The lectern is of ornate brass involving an eagle perched on top of a large world globe representing the word of God around the world. Jonathan Swift was Dean of the church 1713-1745 and is buried there. He was responsible for building an alms house for women who could no longer take care of themselves.

 

   From City Hall it is a short block to Christ Church. Standing in the heart of Viking Dublin and on the site of a wooden church built by a Danish king in 1038, it is one of two protestant churches in the city. It is one of the oldest and most recognized landmarks in Dublin. By 1152 it was incorporated into the Irish church. King James was protestant and King William catholic so the church switched religions a couple of times.

     In 1562 the nave roof collapsed and emergency rebuilding lasted until the 1870s. The church declined in the 19^th century so Henry Roe, a wealthy distiller hired a gothic expert to restore the building. After the 1895 renovation the church appeared Victorian. A two-year restoration of the cathedral roof and stonework was undertaken in 1982. A new organ was installed in 1984. Christ Church was the first church in Ireland to have English spoken.

    The crypt, under the church is the actually the oldest building in Dublin, and the largest crypt in Europe. During the 16^th and 17^th centuries the crypt was used as a market, a meeting place for business and at one point a pub. Reconstruction between 1870-1878 was accomplished with monies from the Guinness brewery. Today the 900 year old crypt is open to the public. New lighting recently has been installed in the crypt floor. Several display cases hold outstanding rare church silver including the stunning royal plate given by King William III in 1697 as a thanksgiving for his victory at the battle of the Boyne. Also on display are candlesticks used in 1689.

  Just before we were about to descend down into the large crypt I looked up and saw a sign on the wall that said in bold letters “CAT and RAT”. Moving my eyes upward I saw a shadow box with a mummified cat and rat. The written explanation stated that the animals were trapped in one of the organ pipes in 1860. I guess that cat really wanted that rat!

                       

St. Patrick's Day is time for the wearing o' the green and dodging leprechauns.     So, tip your tam o'shanter jauntily to the side, take a wee step forward into the land where Irish eyes are smilin’ for some St. Patrick's Day History.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and many miracles have been attributed to the bishop, including the driving of the snakes from Ireland. His sainthood derives from his conversion of the Irish Celtic pagans to Christianity. He used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland. March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick.

The custom of imbibing alcohol on St. Patrick's Day comes from an old Irish legend. As the story goes, St. Patrick was served a measure of whiskey that was considerably less than full. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil that fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper. In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing. He returned to the cellar with the innkeeper and found the devil emaciated from the landlord's generosity, and promptly banished the demon, proclaiming thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day. This custom is known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick's Pot. The custom is known as "drowning the shamrock" because it is customary to float a leaf of the plant in the whiskey before downing the shot.

St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737, and is now celebrated nationwide with parades and as an opportunity to wear green and consume green libations. One reason St. Patrick’s Day might have become so popular is the fact that it takes place just a few days before the end of winter; one might say it has become the first green of spring. The celebration in Ireland is more of a religious matter. The wearing o' the green is a symbol of Ireland's lush green farmlands.

also.see posts 9-22-13,  6-9-14,  8-12-12

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

                                       One of my Favorite Cities

    Melbourne, capitol of Australia’s smallest state, Victoria, is known as the Garden City. Melbourne, with a population of 3 million, is the third largest city in the Empire, following London and Sydney. The city, established in 1835, became part of Australia as an independent nation in 1901 when all of the states unified. One out of every seven acres in the city is a park, and nearly one quarter of the inner city is set aside for recreational purposes. This added to the multitude of flowers and trees creates an atmosphere of rural tranquility in a large busy city.

     The city has one of the world’s largest tram systems that includes 227 miles of track in the city and suburbs. The inner city tram is free. The system is reliable, fast, and convenient. The streets, originally built to run sheep, are wide enough to accommodate the tram system. The city’s lack of traffic problems is the envy of many a large city.

     Melbourne was built on the banks of the Yarra River. There are several parks along the river, There are 1100 known varieties of eucalyptus trees in the world. Of Australia’s 760 varieties the koala eats only five varieties. The oil content of the tree makes them literally explode in a fire, however fire breaks the hard seed, so in a way the tree depends on fire to regenerate and has the fastest re-growth of any tree.

     Melbourne is the center for arts and a mecca for sports including soccer, tennis, rugby, cricket, baseball, bowling, and football. At noon the parks are crowded with people, many of them doing something athletic

     All directions radiate from the post office, built in 1836. Parking signs in the city are a bit different. It was explained, “A P 5 means one can park for 5 minutes, P 1 is one hour parking.” Parking maids in the city are diligent.”

      On one visit to the city we spent an evening with a Wathaurong aborigine who told us about his culture. He gave us a close up encounter with the didgeridoo. He could really make it sing, but none of the rest of us had much success.  

Capt. Cook Cottage in Fitzroy Park

     Fitzroy Park is large and on a couple of visits I saw a good part of it. Beside the adorable fairy tree I was fascinated with Capt. Cook’s cottage. It was disassembled in England and shipped to Australia where it was reassembled in 1934. We walked through the small cottage and then saw the statue of the famous seaman in the backyard of the cottage.

     Ned Kelly, a notorious bush ranger (escaped convict), became famous for his suit of armor. Australia’s Jesse James, he defied all law and order. He was hanged, after being shot in first one knee and then the other, vulnerable spots in his armor. A museum downtown Melbourne describe his exploits.

  Queen Victoria Market covers 17 acres and contains 1000 stalls selling everything imaginable. Originally, in 1837, the area was a cemetery. In 1877 part of the cemetery was converted to the market, requiring the relocation of only three graves. In 1917 Parliament authorized the relocation of 10,000 remains, razed the cemetery and completed the market. It takes a long time to work your way all through the market---of course if one just walked and didn’t stop to look it wouldn’t take as long!

  Australia has a large catholic population and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne is the country’s largest Catholic Church.  This gothic church, made of sandstone, was started in 1850 and has under-gone two expansions. The sanctuary’s blue-stone alter is an island at the end of the nave and pews.  Surrounding the sanctuary are seven small chapels whose walls are painted to resemble tile. One has to look closely to realize it is paint and not tile. The capacity of the church is 1800-2000. The magnificent stain glass windows were made in Birmingham, England in the late 1800s. The wood work and wooden pillars are truly beautiful. I found it unusual to have the hammer-beam ceiling decorated with angels--there were 32 of them.

     There is much to do and lots to see  in Melbourne and many sites have been described in previous posts. The Shrine of Remembrance is absolutely one of my favorite places (post 6/12). I also loved being up close with kangaroos (post1/10), koalas (post1/11), and the tiny fairy penguins (post 9/12).