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| St. Patrick's Cathedral and Park |
Christ Church is the official Cathedral of the Dublin
Diocese, while St. Patrick’s is considered the National Cathedral.
St.
Patrick’s has had a church on this site since the
fifth century. A wooden building
stood here until 1191 when the church was granted collegiate status. It reached official cathedral status in 1224. The present building was built between 1191 and 1270.
During the 1860s, the building was believed to be in
danger of collapsing and a major rebuilding project by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness
resulted in the Gothic
Revival building we see today.
Unfortunately, failure to preserve records during this time means that
it is difficult to discern which parts of the building are actually medieval
and which is part of the Victorian remodeling.
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| Nave of St. Patrick's Cathedral |
Currently, it is also the location for the celebration of
Remembrance
Day in November hosted by the Royal
British Legion and attended by the President
of Ireland.
The building has served as both a Roman Catholic and an
Anglican church (its current status). Worship services
are still held daily.
Download the free app St. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin before touring the site. Visit here for a
beautiful 360-degree tour of the nave.
Interesting Historical Notes
Jonathan Swift,
author of Gulliver’s Travels, served as Dean (head)
of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. His grave can be
seen on floor of the cathedral located
almost immediately to your right as you enter the cathedral from the southwest
porch.
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| Jonathan Swift's grave |
Here you find not only Swift’s
grave but that of his long-time companion, Esther Johnson, aka Stella. On the wall nearby, you will find Swift’s Latin
epitaph to the two of them and a bust
of Swift.
The first ever performance of Handel’s Messiah was performed here in
1742. The composition is on
display in a glass case in the cathedral.
As a show of disrespect, Oliver Cromwell stabled
his army’s horses in the nave of the cathedral during his stay in Dublin in
1649.
Before the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in
1871, the installation ceremony for the Knights of
St. Patrick had been held in the cathedral since 1783. Although the ceremony was moved to St.
Patrick’s Hall in Dublin Castle, the heraldic
banners of the knights at the time of the move still hang above the choir
stalls.
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral and Park |
St.
Patrick’s Park, the expanse of green beside the cathedral, was a crowded
slum until it was cleared and its residents ejected in the early 20th
century. A stone in the park marks
the spot of the “holy
well” where tradition says St. Patrick baptized his converts. A Celtic
cross on display in the cathedral and uncovered in the garden next door is
believed to have covered this well.
Also note the door with a hole, the Door
of Reconciliation. It is
through this hole that Lord Kildare chanced his arm in an attempt to shake
hands with his enemy Lord Ormonde.
The elaborate Boyle
Monument was erected in 1632 by Richard
Boyle, Earl of Cork, as a tribute to his family. The kneeling
five-year-old boy is his son Robert Boyle, who grew up
to become the famous scientist for whom Boyle’s Law is
named relating to the pressure and volume of gases.
The St. Patrick’s Choir
School was established in 1432 and is an all-male
choir that still recruits young men.
The choir itself actually dates to 1220.
Visit
here for an in-depth view of the cathedral’s history via a timeline, a video gallery, and cathedral tales.
