Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the cathedral to visit in Dublin. You need several days anyway to explore the city but here you will see why you need to visit this cathedral.
A typical Celtic crossWhen you want to make a correction even though it’s not authorized a sharpie is the way to do it A very nice garbage can Going back more than 1000 years is always interestingBeautiful stained glass windows telling a story Going back 1500 years at a well that may have been used by Saint PatrickThis is the stone over the well which the church is built on top of The history of Saint Patrick There are many memorial plaques in the cathedral which is typical of churches on the island Jonathan Swift was very important writer and religious figure in Ireland and he served the cathedral as well as the general publicSome of Jonathan‘s thingsThis is the death mask of Jonathan Swift who you know as the author of Gulliver‘s travelsSome interesting things about swift Honoring swift in Latin So now you see how prominent he was as a “deacon“ in this cathedralThis seems to be a very aggressive Irish thingA view of the cathedral on the inside Patent approved by Queen Anne George the fourth of William the fourth memorial The following are memorials to the people who died in the Burmese warThe old entranceway door with an interesting twist
THE PHRASE TO
‘chance your arm’ is often used when describing someone taking a risk.
Yet many people do not know the role this medieval door played in its origin.
In 1492 two feuding families, the Butlers of Ormonde and the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, were engaged in battle. Sensing an impending defeat, the Butlers fled the battlefield and took sanctuary in the Cathedral’s Chapter House.
The Fitzgeralds followed in pursuit, but instead of fighting proposed a truce. Calling to the Burlers through the Chapter House door, Gerald Fitzgerald, head of the family; guaranteed them safe passage from Dublin. However, the Burlers refused this offer, believing it to be a trap.
To prove his sincerity, Gerald Fitzgerald ordered a hole be cut in the door. He thrust his arm through it, offering it in peace. Convinced, the Butlers shook his hand. Today, the story lives on in the famous expression, “to chance your arm”.
