Easter Rising

It's hard to describe how cool I thought Easter Sunday was. We started the day by heading to St. Patrick's Cathedral for the Easter service there. (Please note however, that the church exterior in the picture below is Christ Church Cathedral, as St. Patrick's was undergoing a bit of renovation.) We arrived at St. Patrick's and sat down in our seats, awaiting the beginning of the service. We ended up sitting in a pew with a guy from Louisiana - go figure. The service started with us singing "Jesus Christ is risen today", which was comforting, as I think I haven't heard that song in a couple of years now - definitely not since arriving here. Anyway, the service was good, and we took communion as well.

St. Patrick's, of course, has a history all it's own. Built in 1192 on the spot where St. Patrick supposedly baptised his converts back in 450. The list of church deans include Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, and it is the place where Handel's Messiah was first performed. The walls around the chapel are covered with plaques and statues of the famous people who have been associated with the church in one way or another.

After the service, we headed back to our hotel to change clothes, stopping off at Leo Burdock's on the way, for yet another serving of fish and chips for Michelle and myself. I've already commented on the fish and chips in another post, but after that meal, I was fish and chipped out.

We then headed to Kilmainham Gaol, an appropriate place to visit on Easter Sunday. To back up a bit, on Easter Monday in 1916, a small group of men gathered in the post office on O'Connell Street to proclaim independence from British rule. This event is called "Easter Rising". The uprising was put down by the British rather quickly - they bombed the city centre north of the Liffey, and the leaders surrendered. They took the leaders of the insurrection to Kilmainham Gaol, where they were executed by firing squad. One of the men (O'Connell - for whom O'Connell Street is now named) was shot and wounded during the original British attacks, and was carried from the hospital to Kilmainham for his execution. He was too weak to stand, so they tied him to a chair and shot him. This ultimately led to the Irish revolt and finally becoming an independent nation. Kilmainham had been around for a while prior to that, and is also the film location for "In the Name of the Father", an excellent, if disturbing, film, as well as several music videos, including, of course, one by U2.

After Kilmainham, the day was mostly gone, but we felt we just couldn't leave Dublin without a visit to Supermac - the Irish McDonald's, if you will. So, in we went, and then back to the hotel.

Next: The dark stuff...(sorry, Lisa, I just can't help myself)