Day 9

On this day of June 28 we began with a tour of Glendalough. Glendalough was an early Christian monastic city founded by Saint Kevin. It contains the most intact and beautiful round tower in the world and has one of the most defined set-ups of an old monastic city. There were three rings in these cities and in Glendalough the inner ring was for the most reverent of areas while the second ring housed the religious peoples of the monastery. The third ring housed the main work force of the city with the congregation and their different commerce shops. Most monasteries were completely self sufficient due to the immense population and the sites chosen by the founders. Saint Kevin was considered a great miracle worker. He is even said to have stood in the lake at Glendalough so still that the birds nested in his hands and he stayed there until the babies flew off on their own. Glendalough also contains St. Kevin’s Church, which is still very much intact despite the years of weathering. The gatehouse to the city is also still intact, and the gatehouse was very important because it was the main entrance to the city, and a pilgrim, traveler or person on business could tell Glendalough was a sanctuary because of the cross etched in the stone designated it as a holy place.

After the tour we went on a hike to the two lakes in the valley. The name Glendalough means “between the lakes.” The walk was beautiful despite the intermittent rain and the constant bugs, and we stopped for lunch under a grand old tree with perfect branches for sitting. We then spent time at the second lake and walked back to where our bus was parked. Along the walk the group was treated to the lovely singing voices of Sam and Ted, whose song selections included “Take It Easy” by The Eagles, “Free Fallin” by Tom Petty, “Back in Black” by AC/DC and “You’re the One That I Want” from the musical Grease on the bus ride home.

When we got back to the hostel we had about an hour of down time before we had to leave for Evensong at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The Cathedral was very beautiful and the service was filled with the music of a fantastic mens choir. St. Patrick’s was much like Christ Church in the sense that there were many historical items around the church and St. Patrick’s was preaching place of famous author Jonathan Swift.

Throughout the week here in Dublin, there have been multiple sightings of the varied morning hair styles of Sam. The styles have been appreciated by everyone in the group and without a doubt by other people in the hostel. When we were at the Hill of Tara yesterday a family was walking a small brown dog with crazy hair (much like Sam’s in the morning) and George stated “see that dog? It’s a Cocker-Samuel.”

We are all hoping for a great last day in the city tomorrow. Peace.

-Sam Belka and Ted Fenter for the Confirmation Class Pilgrims