Day 8: Cathedral and Hill of Tara

Today we went to Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, and the church service was beautiful; the choir was tuned to perfection and the ninth note hidden in a good acapella group was heard throughout service. Not only the choir was beautiful; the inside of the cathedral was gorgeous. With a tall three level naïve with an arcade, gallery and a clerestory at the top. The bays consisting of the outlining ambulatory were matching with the naïve; they consisted of a ribbed hexa-groin vault, parallel to the enameled tiled floors which depicted rose windows, pilgrims and various other organic designs. The apse consisted of three radiating chapels adorned with beautiful stained glass windows. The crypts were filled with monumental sculptures and fine dining dishes used by King Charles III and other royalty.

With all the beautiful architectural and sculptural aspects of the cathedral, one could imagine becoming distracted by all of the gorgeous detail; the alter table, pulpit and choir seats were recessed inside the crossing arch, the quintessential centre point of the cruciform basilica plan. This area was also surrounded by gothic floral designs on metal and wood, but one’s attention is focused on the service; the welt trained choir, booming voice of the priest during the sermon and slightly embellished procession brings a person closer to God. Even the heavy odor of the incense permeated my inflamed sinuses.

After Christ Church, we headed over to the Hill of Tara, where the high Kings of old would celebrate their power. Coincidentally, the Hill of Slane is directly across the valley from the Hill of Tara, where Saint Patrick made a move against the King; the story goes that Patrick lighted a bond fire when the King was feasting to his power, and that he lighted his fire just before the King lighted his. The King sent over his sentries to capture Patrick and his disciples. When questioned why, Patrick proclaimed ‘I do not celebrate with the false king; I celebrate with the true King, God.’ The morning after, the King let Patrick and his disciples go. The Hill was slightly craggy with many steep sloping hills; the hills were short, so many of the group could not roll down the hills. The site is littered with many sign posts which are printed with Gaelic and English. The hill behind the burial mound was labeled the Royal Seat, more than likely labeling where the King would sit during his bon fire. Because of a time crunch, we were not able to make it to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, but we will visit there in the future.

--Matt Vecerkauskas and Matt Improta for the Confirmation Class Pilgrims