10.01.2025

‘The most fun you can have in Dublin’ – A Visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral by Delgany MU

This article first appeared in the December 2024 issue of the Church Review. The January 2025 issue is out this weekend. Information on how to subscribe is at the end of this article.

By Nigel Waugh

 

St Patrick’s Cathedral have given away more than a million euro in the last few years to a number of local outreach projects and initiatives in Dublin 8. This has been raised from visitors’ donations while lighting prayer candles – not a particularly Anglican tradition but it obviously strikes a chord with visitors and it yields an impressive result for good causes.

The Cathedral is an iconic landmark in the city and is visited by more than 600,000 visitors each year, not counting those who come to daily or Sunday services. 94% of these are international visitors – tourists. The other 6% are more local but, of these, how many are members of the Church of Ireland parishes to whom, in a sense, this cathedral of the Church of Ireland belongs?

To make the parishes more aware of what the Cathedral has to offer, the Cathedral board came up with a brilliant idea. They offer a guided tour to parish groups, Mothers’ Union branches or other organisations, collect them from the Dart or other convenient starting point and give them VIP access to the Cathedral and its attractions. Then they will bring you home or back to your starting point. No worries about traffic or parking or security – and no entry fee. It is all free of charge!

On a Tuesday afternoon in October, a group organised by Delgany Parish Mothers’ Union took the Cathedral up on its offer. A Dart from Greystones to Tara Street, collection by minibus and an escort into the Cathedral.

There is plenty to see. Even if you have been before, years ago, you will be surprised by how bright the cathedral has become. The regimental flags are still there, deteriorating gently year by year. The beautiful altar frontals and fine statues of aristocracy and church dignitaries are still there but so too are more recent additions, prayer trees and a fine sculpture of St Patrick by Melanie Le Brocquy.

We saw the boar’s head and the cannonball, the ‘chance your arm’ door and we looked for the deliberate mistake in the floor tiling. (Only God makes everything perfectly).

Our guide, Kryzel, told us the stories of Dean Jonathan Swift and translated the Latin epitaph which Swift modestly wrote for himself. He was a man who liked to have the last word! We saw his death masks and the very modest pulpit he used when preaching. His sermons were said to be 2 to 3 hours long which makes our modern clergy’s preaching seem ridiculously brief! We asked questions, all of which were expertly answered.

What was the best bit? The magnificent architecture, superb needlework on frontals and beautiful stained–glass windows were all outstanding. The overall sense of a magnificent building that has been a house of prayer for more than 800 years, with its tombs of Norman archbishops and connections to every period of Irish history in that time, is impressive. I liked the Dean’s Chair, made from original Cathedral roof timbers, dating from 1190 but I suppose we all had our own favourites.

The person who really made the day special was Kelley Bermingham, who works as Community Officer for the Cathedral and was our driver and overall guide for the day. Kelley’s local knowledge of the cathedral and surrounding area of Dublin 8 and her information and commentary on all the sights we saw from the minibus windows was truly outstanding. Her enthusiasm was infectious but she has worked in the area on various social projects and she is realistic about the problems and deprivations of inner city life. She has an impressive track record in social action, both by her own efforts and with her family. Her father, Willie Bermingham, founded the charity ‘Alone’.

Seeing the city and the Cathedral through her eyes, it felt almost like visiting a foreign city. And I am a Dubliner, born and bred.

So, thank you Kelley and cathedral staff for a great day out – the most fun you can have in Dublin.

Revd Nigel Waugh is Editor of the Church Review and was, until recently, Rector of Delgany.

The Church Review is the diocesan magazine of Dublin and Glendalough. You can learn more and find out how to subscribe here: https://dublin.anglican.org/news/church-review/subscriptions