Category: Religion - Reading the Signs

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God Has No Country

21/8/2015

I added to my bookshelf this week.

There have been a number of dots joined in one year because eighteen months ago I would not have known who Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty was. That was my thought when I read of a talk in Dingle that had happened prior to our holidays.

Shortly after, his name cropped up when I was trying to find information on Delia Murphy. Then I spotted the statue in Killarney and had an item on the To Do list for the blog.

This summer the murals in Tralee and Killarney were spotted and have prompted today’s blog – now to get around to reading the book…..

A glimpse of the past

15/8/2015

Today I saw a lot of the past - We were looking through boxes (upon boxes) of photographs by SOK’s grandfather which appeared to start in 1920 – an absolute treasure trove.

These photographs were taken in October 1955 at St Gobnait’s Well and Pilgrim site in Baile Mhuirne.

My photographs below were taken earlier this year.

There has been some improvements works to cater for the pilgrim and religious tourist – as well as the plain curious, like me.

Rosary & Pints

5/8/2015

Dún Ṁuire, Grand Parade - Legion of Mary

Premises on cover owned by proprietors of The Albert

Did the Legion of Mary operate out of a pub? Can you imagine what D’Unbelievables would have done with such a scenario?

Or is there a glitch between the printing and the cover page of the first Sean O’Faolain book that I have read – which was enjoyed.

Maybe the edition for Ireland had a different cover but the acknowledgement to The Albert may not have been changed.

It gets curiouser when one checks Google images for the book and none appear to be of The Albert.

So maybe it was a prediction and Taylor Walker are about to enter the Irish pub market

The building in 2015

Dún Mhuire

‘... photograph, c. 1960, shows the attractive building at the riverside end of the Grand Parade, then known as Dún Mhuire. Originally called Daly’s Clubhouse and later the City Club, it dates from around 1787, but was extensively altered and refaced to the design of Sir John Benson. In 1952, the City Club having amalgamated with the County Club at the latter’s South Mall premises, this building was purchased at auction for £9,125 by the Legion of Mary for use as a Diocesan headquarters. It was officially opened as Dún Mhuire on 7 December 1952. In more recent times, it has become a financial business premises.’

CORK In Old Photographs – Tim Cadogan (2003 Gill & Macmillan Ltd)

Interesting Gable Art

31/7/2015

Have you seen these tile mosaics?

I spotted them on the gable of a building earlier this week.

On what type of building would you expect to see them placed?

Gortaneidin

19/6/2015

A first – for me anyway.

As those who stop by here regularly probably realise, I stop and photograph every grotto that I pass on my travels. I have even been known to alter my travel path so that I might find another grotto.

Last week, heading to West Cork, I spotted this grotto at Gortaneidin, outside Inchigeela. Speaking with CC, he said that the statue was seen as moving which prompted a web search.

For the first time, I came across a website about a grotto.

A direct line to God...

1/6/2015

Those of you who frequent this part of cyberspace are probably aware of my curiosity regarding things on display in public places.

These include grottoes and telephone boxes.

Upto yesterday, in Co. Roscommon between Boyle and Tulsk, I had never seen these combined – a first time for everything.

I don't know.....

19/5/2015

What do you think?

Is it art? Is it religious? Does it matter, except to satisfy my heightened sense of curiosity?

I had a lovely lunch today in Hudson’s Wholefoods in Ballydehob and spotted this on a house nearby.

I don’t know the answers but I do know it is not something I have seen over a door before.

Santa's Robin

27/4/2015

Just back from a weekend ag caint in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh.

On the way down, I stopped at St. Gobnait’s Well and Monument in Baile Mhuirne.

Before heading back, I stopped at the Blasket Centre.

I wondered if Santa’s robin was following me.

Another Grotto

25/4/2015

A few weeks back, I ventured down St. Rita’s Villas, off Shandon Street and came across this grotto. I met the man who built it with his father about 1980.

I have very very many photographs of Grottoes, Postboxes, Civil War Memorials, among others.

Every once in a while, I am reminded that it is unlikely that I will have a complete collection of any – there being places that just not will get to.

Imbolc

27/1/2015

For the past few years, I have been interested in the adoption by the Catholic Church of pagan traditions, Pattern Days, and Holy Wells.

Over the weekend, I spotted on Louise Nugent’s blog details of a talk next Friday on the Celtic and Christian aspects of St. Brigit.

I must try to re-organise my week to be free to get to the Triskel for that.

Grotto update

12/1/2015

I need to find time to update the Grotto sections of the website – to add the photographs that I have come across in the past few months and also to update the listings.

Thanks to Eoin at 53 degrees for allowing me to add to his map. When you see the locations like that there are quite a number around.

These two, each in the gables of adjoining houses, were spotted in Lisdoonvarna over the Christmas holidays. There is a similar type in Clarecastle but I have yet to see such a location for a grotto outside County Clare.

Grotto Map

Brian O’Rourke is leaving

4/1/2015

St. Anne's Church, Shandon

Brian O’Rourke is leaving.

He is going to Portlaoise & Ballyfin. Today is his last service at St. Anne’s Church in Shandon. He will be missed by me, our eight year old and by Nelly, so we plan to attend the service this morning at 10.30.

The first time I heard Rev. Brian O’Rourke, he was really the side show. A few years back, we went to the Jazz Service that is celebrated on the Sunday of the Jazz Festival – we went for the Jazz, not the religion.

As I have rabbited-on before, I have been agnostic for many years. I have passed through the anti-organised religion phase.

I have explained my, very irregular, attendance at St Anne’s as giving up an hour for some contemplative time. Of this approx. 20 minutes is of religious readings and ceremony, which is probably the main reason for many to attend but not me.

There is about twenty minutes of songs which do start to balance the scales in my enjoyment of the hour.

The final twenty minutes are the sermon. Sometimes this is a repeat of the content of the readings and so disrupts the balance of my scales. This I relate to the Classroom-style where the message is repeated and repeated – similar to what I heard for years growing up and generally hear when attending religious services.

Hung, Drawn, Quartered and Burnt

28/12/2014

Since starting this blog, I have read a small number of plaques regarding Martyrs.

Recently, outside Durrow in Co. Laois, I came across another plaque to Martyrs who were, upto then, totally unknown to me.

At least I now know a little about John O’Molloy, Cornelius o’Doherty and Geoffrey O’Farrell – and also that there are quite a number of Irish Martyrs.

“Franciscan Memorial

In memory of the three Franciscan Friars

John O’Molloy, Cornelius O’Doherty, Geoffrey O’Farrell

Martyred 15th December 1588

They had been inspired preachers of the Word of God to their people in the Catholic tradition and had ministered throughout Leinster. According to records, they were captured and first beaten with sticks and scourged with whips. They were then offered rich rewards to abandon their beliefs which all three rejected. As a result they were hanged, drawn and quartered and their remains burnt in Oldtown, Abbeyleix.”

Writing Numbers

15/12/2014

Yet another where I was not as correct as I had previously thought.

A few weeks back, having brought our eight years old swimming and waiting for the class to finish, I was sitting next to a father who was helping his young daughter with her homework. They were doing Roman Numerals.

I have always liked the logic of Roman Numerals – particularly the counting back for 4 and 9.

I did comment to the father that if she managed to convert 99 correctly, she deserved an ice cream cone.

Last Saturday, I was again on child dropping duty and spent an hour walking around the Shandon area. When I spotted this plaque in the North Cathedral, my mind was immediately thinking, if Rev Magrath was expert in Latin, he was possibly 113 years turning in his grave with the use of MDCCCCI instead of MCMI.

That was until Wikipedia revealed that the subtractive notation is not universally in place and so both are correct.

Rev Magrath can rest easy….

Conscience Prickers Everywhere

11/12/2014

A few weeks back, it was Louise’s blog.

Before that, it was a plaque on the wall of a pub in Cobh.

During the summer holiday, it was a church in Killorglin.

Reminder to self – do it before it is too late……

Killorglin

Rob Roy, Cobh