Happy St. Brendan's Day!

The church at Clonfert, St. Brendan's image.
Photo copyright,  Cindy Thomson, 2013

When we were in Ireland last month my husband and I made a trip to Clonfert, the site where St. Brendan set up his monastery. It's not so easy to get to, but I'm so glad we figured it out. This site turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for me.

The church, the Cathedral of Clonfert, is part of the Church of Ireland. The cathedral was not open when were there, but truly the doorway is the most magnificent draw. From Wikipedia: The earliest part of the church dates back to around 1180. Its doorway is the crowning achievement of Hiberno-Romanesque style. It is in six orders, and has an amazing variety of motifs, animal heads, foliage, human heads etc. Above the doorway is a pointed hood enclosing triangles alternating with bizarre human heads, and below this is an arcade enclosing more human heads.




Just amazing. What do you think?

Clonfert Cathedral, Photo copyright, Cindy Thomson, 2013

Closeup of Confert Cathedral doorway, photo copyright, Cindy Thomson, 2013

 Even though we couldn't go inside, I saw this stained glass window through another window, and the sun was brilliantly backlighting it. The trees behind me were reflected in the plain glass window, and gave this photograph an eerie appearance.

Stained glass of Clonfert Cathedral, photo copyright, Cindy Thomson, 2013

This, of course, was not St. Brendan's church, just the site where he established his in the 6th century. He is one of my favorite Irish saints because of his adventurous tale. If you're not familiar with it, there are several sites where you can read the original, like here.  I've blogged about his journey many times, here and here and here.

It was a little startling, however, to find St. Brendan's resting place looking so...modern day?

St. Brendan's gravesite, photo copyright Cindy Thomson, 2013

Just for grins, go to Google maps, satellite  and look up Clonfert Cathedral, County Galway. You'll see how remote it is, surrounded by bogland. So many of the holy sites are located on hilltops with impressive views, but this site is special as well. I could feel it. And don't miss the forested walk (along with St. Brendan's tree) right next door. Very special!

Photo copyright, Cindy Thomson, 2013

Photo copyright, Cindy Thomson, 2013

Spring Comes Late

...this year to Northern Ireland.

I'm nearing my deadline so I'm not able to put up a lengthy post, but for now I thought I'd share this picture I took on the hill from the Saint Patrick Centre looking up to Down Cathedral. Did you know John Wesley preached on this hill? I'll have to make that another blog post!

Northern Ireland had a cold and snowy spring, so unusual. But when I got there the daffodils were blooming!

Celtic Spring

I was looking for spring (snowstorm outside right now!) and look what I found!

Enjoy!

Who Loves a Parade?

Apparently the Irish, especially the Irish-Americans. They've been having parades in America since before the Declaration of Independence was signed! The very first St. Patrick's Day Parade occurred, as best as I can tell, in Boston in 1737. New York's first, in 1762 (or 1766 according to Wikipedia), was similar, a far cry from what it is now. Just some Irish soldiers serving in the British military going on parade for the patron saint's feast day.

Even General George Washington saw a need to recognize St. Patrick's Day for his Irish soldiers. On March 17, 1780 he declared a holiday as “an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/03/17/st-patrick-day-facts-and-legends/#ixzz2Ni6SC4at

But the idea caught on, and not just in New York. Philadelphia's parade started in 1771 and by the 1800s parades had sprung up in most major cities.

Now, even minor cities have St. Patrick's Day parades.

And so does Dublin, Ireland. You can even watch a live feed of the parade (on Sunday, March 17) if you can't make it there.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!