The "Troubles"

It’s impossible to summarize the pain of the people that live on this Island. It seems that from the beginning there have always been people that wanted to live here. The Vikings (from Scandinavia) invaded Ireland in 795. They were short on land in the 700’s and went out as conquerors looking for more space. The Normans, the English, and others followed their invasion. It’s a very long story. It was the Vikings that founded the city of Dublin on the Liffey River and their influence still is present today.

The established monasteries attempted to withstand the invasions. One of the characteristics of these monasteries was the High Cross. (See picture.)

It was customary for monasteries to display a wooden cross, but from the 700s onwards it became common to carve them from stone. Some had Biblical scenes carved on them, to assist in teaching the largely illiterate population. Some have speculated that they were made so large to prevent the Vikings from stealing them or knocking them down, although this is purely a guess. My picture on the left shows the High Cross at Monasterboice, county Louth. I visited there on May 9th. The High Tower behind the cross was also used as a refuge during invasions.

The English attempted to take over the island and make it part of “Great Britain.” British settlers were brought over to start colonies. They attempted to take over the whole island. It didn’t work.

The “Troubles” are mistakenly termed a war between Catholics and Protestants. It’s in reality those that want to have British rule over the island (most of which are Protestants) and those that want National (Irish) rule (most are Catholics.) Religion really has little to do with this. As usual, it’s “politics!”

Ireland’s current “troubles” has a very long story that carries much pain and hardship going back to the 10th Century. It appears that now most want to live together in peace. There’s still much lack of trust, some prejudice and some “extremists” stirring the pot on both sides. There has been good efforts made but there’s still much to do.

The Potato Famine

In downtown Dublin, on the Liffey River, there is a memorial of bronze statues that pay tribute to those that died in the potatoe famine. I copied some of my pictures just above. It was indeed a painful time in Irish History.

I hear a lot about the famine and how it affected the entire island. Potatoes are a main sustenance here in Ireland. Even today potatoes are served in various forms at most of the meals. Even at breakfast, they do appear.

By the 1800s, the potato had become the staple crop in the poorest regions of Ireland. More than three million Irish peasants subsisted solely on the vegetable which is rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin C. It is possible to stay healthy on a diet of potatoes alone. (They obviously hadn’t heard of Peanut M&M’s.)

In 1845 and lasting for 6 years, a blight caused problems with the potato crop. Over a million people died here in Ireland because of the famine. Another million left for better places like America, New Zealand, Australia and the like.

Most left from the seaport of Cork where I will visit the last week in May. There’s a museum at the harbor that focuses in on the famine and those that left from Cork. Before the famine the population of Ireland was over 8 million. For many reasons more than I listed the number dropped to a little over 4 million. Today there are about 6 million people and the country has the best economy in all of Europe. They did export more computer programs than any place in the world but that’s now changing. They attracted many in the computer field which put them back on the map.

In downtown Dublin on the Liffey River there is a memorial of bronze statues that pay tribute to those that died in the famine. I’ll post pictures. It was indeed a painful time in Irish History.

There's lots of painful history here in Ireland. More on "The Troubles" later

What Do I Do All Day??

Good Question.

My family has been asking that question a lot. Each day is a bit different and it’s been pretty busy. Let me give you my schedule:
8:00am Breakfast in the Cafeteria
8:30am Morning Prayer with the College Community
9:15am` RFM (Renewal For Ministry) Prayer
9:30am Class till Noon. (“tea break” in between)
12:15pm Mass with the College Community
1:00pm Lunch
2:00pm Class till 3:00pm (no “tea” break.)

As you can see the day is full. I thought I had Friday off…WRONG. Classes are scheduled on Friday, but not in the afternoon.

My exercise consists of walking and I do that in the afternoon with a walk to the city center or St. Steven’s Green or to the Museum, Gallery, etc. Today, May 8th, a number of us toured the international headquarters of the “Sisters of Mercy” founded here in Dublin in 1831. (We took the bus for most of the way, then walked.)

The Spiritual Focus

I do believe that there’s divine wisdom in small things. I found a prayer card the first day in our community room with a quote from Pope Benedict XVI. This quote has been my inspiration each day and I’d like to share it:

“And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There’s nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with him.”

This has been the important focus of my sabbatical spiritual journey so far. I’ll keep you up to date…

From Dublin….Fr. Pat.