Ireland Day 7: Handel's Messiah and Greek Papyri

The first thing I had to do on Friday morning was haul our laundry off to the launderette (I had kept hoping until this point that I'd find something more reasonable, but then I finally caved and just paid the 14 euros or whatever it was.) Then, I was free to sightsee. I had to wear my shorts this day, since I'd just given all my pants to the cleaners. But it was cold, so I was also wearing my coat.

First I toured Christ Church cathedral, which is the older of Dublin's two medieval cathedrals (the other being St. Patrick's). It dates back to the 11th century, although today it is no longer a Catholic cathedral--both St. Patrick's and Christ Church are now Protestant cathedrals, belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland. A Norman king called "Strongbow" (who conquered Dublin for the English crown) rebuilt it in stone in 1171. A major restoration was done in Victorian times, though, so much of the style actually looks Victorian. The underground crypt, where they hold all the treasures (and where you can't take pictures), is the city's oldest surviving structure.

Inside the cathedral are a few noteworthy things: a grave which is said to belong to Strongbow (although apparently historians don't think it does actually house his remains). They also (supposedly) have St. Lawrence O'Toole's heart encased in metal as one of their relics, hanging from the wall (you can see it in one of my pictures below.) And finally, I spotted a replica of the Christus statue--a small version in a little alcove. My parents have seen the original in Denmark (I think?)--there sure are lots of copies of it all over the world! (I found one in Kaiser Wilhelm's palace in Potsdam, Germany too, a couple of years ago.)

When I first entered the cathedral, I was suprised and tickled to find a choir and orchestra rehearsing Handel's Messiah. (My family sings the Messiah together at Christmas time, so it's always been special to me.) I learned that the first performance of the Messiah was actually by the Christ Church Cathedral's choir (although it wasn't sung in the cathedral but in a concert hall across the street. The concert hall doesn't seem to exist anymore, but there is a plaque showing where it once was.) So I got to listen to "For unto us a child is born..." and so on while I wandered around the place. What a treat!

After I finished up at the cathedral, I decided to visit the Dublinia museum which is an adjoining building. They offered a discount for admission if you went to both, so I figured I might as well. The Dublinia museum is about the vikings, and I thought I'd get to see viking artifacts and stuff, but it was actually very disappointing. It was pretty much just for kids--lots of replicas and wax models and exhibits about life as a viking. Mildly interesting, but FILLED to the BRIM with kids. Not that I mind kids, but it was noisy and crowded and not that great. Overall, a waste of an hour.

Finding my time quickly running out, I dashed over to see another museum I had higher hopes for--the Chester Beatty library, which is a collection of ancient manuscripts and books (Chester Beatty was a private book collector who willed over his vast collection to the public when he died.) They don't allow picture taking there, but if you want to see images you can check out their website. It is an AMAZING collection! There are all kinds of old books, but he specialized in collecting religious texts (from all different religions). Probably the most meaningful to me where his early New Testament papyri--including the earliest surviving copy of Paul's letters and the book of Revelation--cool stuff! There were also lots of Islamic texts, and Hindu, Buddhist, etc. Some of the books he collected just because of the impressive bindings or artwork on the illuminated pages. I DEFIINITELY wished I had skipped the Dublinia museum and just spent more time at Chester Beatty.

But, I had to hurry back to meet Kevin, who was getting out of his conference a bit earlier on Friday (5pm instead of 6pm), giving us enough time to take a bus tour of the city together (my second time, but Kevin's first.) When Kevin and I met up at Trinity College, we had to wait for a processional to pass by us, which turned out to be their graduation ceremony.

After the bus tour, we had dinner at some random restuarant on O'Connell St. We actually really liked this one, and they even had reasonable prices (AMAZING for Dublin. Well, for Ireland in general, really--the restuarants are very expensive there.) Then we spent our final night at the Schoolhouse Hotel--just one more day left in Dublin!