Tail Between My Legs
Holly
much for me on my short stay, so I am crawling off with my tail between me
legs in respects to this idea. I am suffering a grave disappointment,
because it is a fine, fine idea. There is nothing like the intimacy of a few
friends sharing some craic around the kitchen stove. And, the chilly autumn
approaching seems to create a need for developing warm friendships in such a
manner. If the recruiter does his job, I may be spending a bit more time in
Ireland. Not getting my hopes up, but I'll follow the path to see where it
leads anyway. I've never understood the wailing I-AM's and their love of
Ireland, yet did nothing about making their way back to a place that calls
to them. I plan on giving it a try. If I succeed, my old world will be shed
off and I will come with not much more than the clothes on me back, an
apron, and joy in my heart. We are all a solitary force that moves about on
earth. We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. In
between, it is the experiences we create and the chances we take that make
life worth living and make us the person that we are.
Now, off the soul searching and on to more important topics. All the posts
from before 08/21 have disappeared from SCI on my reader. This is causing me
an enormous amount of anxiety and suffering, that I will manage to over
come. But, before I lost them all, I did have the opportunity to enjoy
Unki's post about the medieval streets of Dublin and GA's post about the
bogs. The information was greatly appreciated. If you don't mind, I wish
they would be re-posted due to the fact that I had intentions of printing
them off and bringing them on my trip for reference. Stepping down one foot
to a medieval realm is an experience I wish to have.
Now I'm trying to remember the name of the church that Mary the tour guide
was telling me about which is in Dublin that she said is a beautiful church.
St. John's? Something about "In the Lane? Could someone tell me the Catholic
Churches that are closest to St. Stephen's Green, where they are located and
possibly the morning mass times? I believe I may be moved to due my duty a
few times while over there.
So that all having been said, I will be annoying yez all with me presence at
O'Neill's on September the Tird. At the risk of boring everyone, I will be
bringing some pictures of Colorado, New Mexico, Paris, Yellowstone, Chicago,
New Orleans, etc. Additionally, I'm toying with the idea of being so bold
as to present one of my paintings at the SCI Con to a kindred artistic soul
and risking the torture of being laughed off the planet by the SCI art
critics. But, that won't stop me. I still have the ability in my advancing
years, to lift up me leg and thumb me nose. :)
Yours in fond friendship,
Holly Powers (International Woman of Mystery)
James Lee
Here is Unki's post, retrieved via deja. I wanted it myself, because I would
like to visit that part of Dublin but, in particular, I liked the pig story.
Unki: you are appreciated.
James Lee
That part of Dublin (around Werburgh Street) is very old indeed and
even today with all the modern buildings around there it's still
retains an antiquated feel about it. Holly should take a walk around
some of the streets to help her digest her Smoked Cod and Chips. She's
in the heart of Viking Dublin anyway and much of the street layout
hasn't changed since Viking and medieval times. Some remains of the
inner city wall is there still at Cook Street. Dublin was that size in
1200 AD - when it started to grow the 'suburbs' were called
'Liberties' and were attached to the guardianship of certain saints.
Even though it's hard to pick out the medieval features without a lot
of poring over books some things will give this part of Dublin away
for what it is. The hills, for one. Nowhere else in modern Dublin city
are there found these up-and-down streets. The first settlers, and
then the Danes built the city to be nice and safe on top of the hill.
The narrow winding streets are another giveaway - though some of their
colourful names like Cutpurse Lane and Hangman's (Hammond) Lane have
gone. But Fishamble Street is still there: it was the ancient fish
market, just up from the river. Another giveaway is the drop you have
to make when you enter any of the medieval buildings marked on the
map. Ground level goes up about one foot every century.
Medieval Dublin was noisy, busy, dark inside dwellings (no windows,
candles), and very smelly. People did their washing and took their
drinking water from a river called the Poddle. It was their lifeline,
even though it sometimes overflowed and flooded their houses beyond
repair. Now the Poddle has been driven underground and most Dubliners
never think about it. But the Poddle actually surfaces in the grounds
of a convent in Blackpitts. You can also see where it flows into the
Liffey - if you cross over to Ormond Quay. You could go further and
find some old maps of Dublin and trace the Poddle right out to where
its source is, in Tallaght/Walkinstown. It's above ground quite a bit
after Harold's Cross. But meanwhile Holly, when you walk over these
ancient streets towards Beshoffs, remember that they are built on
water.
This part of Dublin has always been different that other parts of the
city. It even has its own folklore such as the infamous 'Dolocher'
Sometime near the end of the. eighteenth century women in Dublin
reported that on the way home on dark winter
evenings they had been attacked by a cloaked figure which looked like
a black pig. As the reports grew of the black pig no woman would go
home at night unescorted. Shortly beforehand a man called Olocher was
sentenced to death for an assault on a young woman which resulted in
her death, and while awaiting execution he was confined in the Black
Dog Prison in Cornmarket. On the morning on which he was to be
executed, however, was found dead in his cell, having cut his own
throat, and the authorities could not understand how he got hold of a
weapon.
The following night a sentry at Cook Street found was in an
unconscious condition. When he revived he was paralysed on one side,
and said he had been attacked by a huge black-pig, and then a sentry
on night duty at the Black Dog Prison disappeared from his post, and
wasn't seen again. His clothes were found draped in his own blood and
naturally the story got about that the black pig, now believed to be
the reincarnation of the dead Olocher, had devoured him.
Sometime later a woman swore before a magistrate that she had seen
'The Dolocher' which by now this was what Dublin people had christened
the apparition. 'For the next two winters the figure appeared at
intervals around Christchurch, and hardly anyone would go near, that
area by night, and residents nearby who kept pigs, were a times
innocently accused of being the culprits.
After the two years a country blacksmith who had come to the city to
find business suddenly and finally solved the problem. Afterwards he
joined some friends in a hostelry in Winetavern Street, where they
engaged in a long and happy drinking session. On the way home the
smith singing in a merry fashion made his way through Christchurch
Yard (which then rejoiced in the name 'Hell'), when to his amazement
he was attacked by a black pig. Taken unawares the tough smith brought
his, huge hands down on the figure in a hammer blow, which stretched
out creature on the ground. The 'Dolocher's identity was then
revealed. It was a man dressed in a black pig and an inquiry resulted
in revealing that it was in fact the prison sentry who had
mysteriously disappeared. Before he died next day from a fractured
skull, he confessed that it was he who had smuggled the knife in to
Olocher in prison, and then spread the story of the ghostly pig,
before taking on the disguise, so as to frighten people away, while he
went around at night robbing houses.
So Holly don't be alarmed, most of the people around there are
reasonably normal in comparisons. You see, we Dubliners have always
been a bit eccentric to say the least. By the way, don't forget to put
loads of vinegar on your chips. I know you Yanks have a hard time with
this but it does make them taste a million times better and the acid
in the vinegar helps you digest the lard that is embedded inside the
fish batter.
Cat
"James Lee" <lee...@bart.nl> wrote in message
news:RZ7h7.112212$gZ5.2...@typhoon.bart.nl...
> Dear Holly
>
> Here is Unki's post, retrieved via deja. I wanted it myself, because I
would
> like to visit that part of Dublin but, in particular, I liked the pig
story.
> Unki: you are appreciated.
>
FFS ! Don't give the man a big head ! He's painful enough as it is !!
Cat(h) (Unki fan)
Cat
"Holly" <HOLLY...@PRODIGY.NET> wrote in message
news:Gu7h7.6053$B41.74...@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com...
> Well, I'm taking it under advisement that the dinner party would be a bit
> much for me on my short stay, so I am crawling off with my tail between me
> legs in respects to this idea. I am suffering a grave disappointment,
> because it is a fine, fine idea.
Indeed it is, and one which does you a great deal of honour, Holly. Look at
it this way: we'll hold you to the dinner party when you're installed in
your 3 bed semi in Templeogue ;-)
Meanwhile, I hope you have a terrific time when you visit.
Cat(h)
FC Dynamo Unki 1898
wrote:
>Well, I'm taking it under advisement that the dinner party would be a bit
>much for me on my short stay, so I am crawling off with my tail between me
>legs in respects to this idea.
We were only messing with ya anyway luv. None of were serious. The
last thing you want to be doing on your holidays is feeding an animal
like me. I have disgusting table manners anyway.
>
>
>
John Cowman
Holly <HOLLY...@PRODIGY.NET> wrote in message
news:Gu7h7.6053$B41.74...@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com...
> much for me on my short stay, so I am crawling off with my tail between me
> legs in respects to this idea. I am suffering a grave disappointment,
> because it is a fine, fine idea. There is nothing like the intimacy of a
few
> friends sharing some craic around the kitchen stove. And, the chilly
autumn
> approaching seems to create a need for developing warm friendships in such
a
> manner. If the recruiter does his job, I may be spending a bit more time
in
> Ireland. Not getting my hopes up, but I'll follow the path to see where it
> leads anyway. I've never understood the wailing I-AM's and their love of
> Ireland, yet did nothing about making their way back to a place that calls
> to them. I plan on giving it a try. If I succeed, my old world will be
shed
> off and I will come with not much more than the clothes on me back, an
> apron, and joy in my heart. We are all a solitary force that moves about
on
> earth. We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. In
> between, it is the experiences we create and the chances we take that make
> life worth living and make us the person that we are.
Holly, that was a georgous paragraph - very moving actually. As Cat(h) says,
we may hold you to a dinner party (communal responsibilites and enjoyment)
if and when you are established here. Meanwhile it will be a pleasure
meeting you at Sci-Con.
John Cowman
FC Dynamo Unki 1898
>Dear Holly
>
>Here is Unki's post, retrieved via deja. I wanted it myself, because I would
>like to visit that part of Dublin but, in particular, I liked the pig story.
>Unki: you are appreciated.
>
>James Lee
Well James I would like very much to thank you except that I too
realise that you are 100% correct. Indeed I am an entertaining,
handsome, erudite, intelligent, witty, interesting, socially
successful and creative fellow who is very popular with the ladies. I
have to be this way in order to serve as a doppelganger to such sad
and tragic envious unfortunates as Newsguy and Lowery. Nature is
always at balance.
FC Dynamo Unki 1898
wrote:
>So that all having been said, I will be annoying yez all with me presence at
>O'Neill's on September the Tird. At the risk of boring everyone, I will be
>bringing some pictures of Colorado, New Mexico, Paris, Yellowstone, Chicago,
>New Orleans, etc. Additionally, I'm toying with the idea of being so bold
>as to present one of my paintings at the SCI Con to a kindred artistic soul
>and risking the torture of being laughed off the planet by the SCI art
>critics.
Can't wait, I love all that stuff. I'll be there on the 3rd so.
James Lee
James Lee
FC Dynamo Unki 1898
>Did you forget 'modest', or just modestly omit it?
Well I would have mentioned 'modest' myself but I wouldn't want to
come across as being self-absorbed and boorish. But I am an incredible
individual who never cases to amaze myself at what I have achieved in
this life considering I started out with less than nothing and I'll
take every opportunity to make you all realise this. In a previous
life I must have been a Lancashire mill owner who 'built up t'factory'
from 'nowt' and who smoked a big cigar and boasted about the all the
'brass' I have accumulated thanks to the industrial revolution and the
raw materials supplied by the British Raj. Now I am entering a
transitional rebirth, which will undoubtedly see me being celebrated
as one of FAS's most challenging and evocative talents as yet another
chapter in my already extraordinary life. From Wall Street to street
sweeper. Who knows, Fosset's Circus could be next?
It has always been like this. My earliest memory I was in this very
small garden in front of the big house where my parents used to send
me when I was little; I must have been like three or something. It was
an old place in Tullamore in County Offaly with the ugly waterways
around the old distillery where you can't even swim, but it had lots
of kids. I used to go there with my two cousins and their German
Sheppard - not their parents; they didn't come with us. There was this
girl who suffered from Down's Syndrome, and she was very tall and
blonde, and I was so intrigued by this girl, yet scared at the same
time. She was like my obsession in Tullamore. It was her stare that
made me fascinated, sorta like a milky stare I never forgot. I used to
hide behind a tree to look at this girl. We used to watch Batman on
the TV together. I started off hiding from her because I was scared,
but also at the same time I was sitting next to her and talking to
her. She looked like this ghost more than a girl suffering from Down's
Syndrome. Which is unusual because Down's Syndrome sufferers don't
usually look like that. I remember people were telling me she had
Down's Syndrome, but maybe my memories have changed her so I don't
know.
The people in the big house in Tullamore started inviting me back to
visit them again years later and I used to go because they were the
first people that I knew that had a VCR. They had a copy of Gone with
the Wind with sticker on it that said £59.99. These people lived in
destitute poverty. Their house was constantly filthy and the cupboard
bare. I'll always remember the net curtains and the mildew all over
them. Never bothered to take them down and wash them. But they had a
VCR and bought tapes to play in it for sixty quid. They watched Gone
with the Wind day and night and they loved it, along with Freaks,
which they showed me when they got a second tape to play in the VCR or
'video' as it was called at the time.
The father of the house was an old man called Billy. I may have been
related to him but I am not sure. He and his wife Maggie raised my
mother when she was a little girl. It's all very strange and I still
do know the full circumstances, but I was always more inclined to find
myself living in a commune as child rather than with a proper family.
This I think, has distorted my whole concept to this day of what
families and relationships really are. I don't recognise them because
I wasn't really exposed to them growing up. I was constantly being
shipped around between Dublin and Liverpool and occasionally Tullamore
for reasons to this very day I do not understand. But it was a very
interesting childhood as well.
Anyway, I watched Tullamore Billy's films as he started to collect
more and more of them. Most of them were terrible copies and the
quality was very poor. I would sit there or hours playing with the
tracking control hoping to see something. One time he got the video
of the film Suspiria. That to me really opened the world because I saw
that as like Hansel and Gretel, a fairy tale. I wasn't so put-off by
odd or creepy films films. I never had so-called bad dreams that other
people tell they had from seeing his films. When I was a kid I wanted
to watch them again and again. I used to watch a lot of films when I
was a kid because they were the first ones to have Betamax in Ireland.
I was so lucky. And all the kids used to come over to watch these
crazy and incredible films like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and
Freaks. I used to watch them five, six times a day. The kids didn't
tell their parents. We made a pact that if they wanted to watch these
films they couldn't tell their parents. Nobody ever did, 'cos for them
it was more important to watch the films. I was scared when I was
watching them alone though at night. I always thought that somebody or
something was going to grab my feet or shoulders. But it felt good, it
didn't feel like something that was going to fuck me up.
Billy's wife Maggie was an artist in best possible way. One morning
she woke me and my cousins up at dawn, we were in some lake near
Tullamore took us to the shore shore. The wind was very high, and went
somewhere a bit far away from us along the shore from and as the sun
was just coming up and started waving her arms as if she was she was
playing a game the wind. She was directing the wind and told the wind
to go this way and that. She told us that what she was doing she
called 'wind magic'. She could create it? I realised then that Maggie
was a witch. On the way back from the lake the Morris Minor she was
driving crashed into a wall. I was terribly stunned, I thought for
about five seconds that I was going to die - this guy was coming on
the other side of the road and it was 6.30am. We see this car with the
indicator going to the right without looking, and Maggie screams:
'No!" and he hits us and our car starts going off the road towards a
wall. I didn't understand what was going on. We had fog that morning
which even made it more devilish. I was totally shocked. I exorcise
my nightmares and monsters through my posts, and that's why I am a
healthy person, not to mention this is also the reason why I am an
entertaining, handsome, erudite, intelligent, witty, interesting,
socially successful and creative fellow who is very popular with the
ladies.
Now where is yellow safety jacket and brass statue of Vishnu?
James Lee
tall blonde girl may have had brain damage. I knew a girl like that once who
was embarrassingly affectionate, but seemed to be protected by some inner
magic. Spooky but nice.
However, 'Freaks' ain't nice at all. Did you dream of the ban-sicin?
James Lee
FC Dynamo Unki 1898
wrote:
>Unki's post about the medieval streets of Dublin and GA's post about the
>bogs. The information was greatly appreciated. If you don't mind, I wish
>they would be re-posted due to the fact that I had intentions of printing
>them off and bringing them on my trip for reference. Stepping down one foot
>to a medieval realm is an experience I wish to have.
Well Holly it was there that Dublin all started, not in the year 988
as the 1988 Millennium celebrations might suggest, but more than a
century earlier. Norwegian Vikings settled on the banks of the Liffey
in 841; their battles with their Danish counterparts came to an end 11
years later with the arrival of Olaf, who united the two sides and
founded the Norse Kingdom of Dublin. The early dwellings were in the
neighbourhood of Christ Church Cathedral on the heights above the
Liffey where the Black Pool (Dubhlinn) at the confluence of the Liffey
and the Poddle rivers was large enough to take their ships. The area
of settlement then crept westward, making a main thoroughfare of what
is now High Street.
The medieval city of Dublin grew and the names of its streets still
have a ring of their time about them. They are named for the saints to
whom the people of the Middle Ages were devoted: Michael's Hill,
Nicholas Street, Patrick Street, Francis Street, John's Lane, James's
Street, Werburgh Street, Bride Street, Thomas Street. All of these
still run along, or connect with, the spine of old Dublin, which goes
from cast to west from Christ Church and the Castle in the direction
of Kilmainham, where once there stood the vast priory lands of the
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. It was in the streets here on the
ridge above the Liffey that the Vikings and the Gaels of Ireland
intermixed to become the Hiberno-Norse. Here, too, that Dublin,
because of clerical rivalry, in the 12th century became the only town
in Christendom to have two great cathedral churches. Here, too, the
Black Death raged in 1347. The old town has seen kingdoms and
republics proclaimed. King James had his capital here before the
battle of the Boyne and King William afterwards. round the streets
near Burdocks walked Jonathan Swift, the Dean of St. Patrick's, and
George Frederick Handel. Here the United Irishmen plotted insurrection
in 1798, that year in which the Irish prophecy read that there would
be "a mild winter, a wet spring, a bloody summer ... and No King". The
1798 rising was fiercely put down and five years later outside St.
Catherine's Church, at the western end of Thomas Street, Robert Emmet,
"The Darling of Erin", was executed for his leadership of an ill-fated
and ill-planned insurrection. As time passed, Old Dublin gradually
lost its importance and the city centre moved eastwards; when the
Irish Free State was founded in the 1920s, the centre of government
moved out of Dublin Castle.
A decent walk around Viking Dublin is best begun in College Green with
your back to Trinity College and the Old Parliament House, now the
Bank of Ireland, to your right. The first street on the left at the
beginning of Dame Street is St. Andrew Street and it will be your
first encounter with the Vikings. Here, on the site of St. Andrew's
Church, stood the "Thingmote", the Norse meeting place or
proto-parliament where the free Norse met to discuss and vote on the
issues of the day. Continue down Dame Street past the modem Central
Bank building and you arrive, on your right, at the doors of the
Olympia Theatre. Now Dame Street slopes gently upwards to Cork Hill
and Lord Edward Street. To the left is the City Hall, built as the
Royal Exchange to the 1769 design of the London architect Thomas
Cooley (who won a £100 prize for his plan). The Corporation of Dublin
moved its headquarters behind this Corinthian facade in 1852 and today
inside are to be seen the ancient regalia of the city and charters
dating back to 1172. Immediately opposite, running south to north, is
Parliament Street; a short distance down it, to the right, lies Essex
Street, site of the old Smock Alley theatre. The actor George Farquhar
played his first part here in 1697.
Directly to the west of City Hall is the entrance to Dublin Castle and
its main courtyard, the Upper Castle Yard. Entry is under an arch
above which, scales in hand, stands the statue of Justice-"its face to
the Castle, its back to the nation". The courtyard is an elegant one,
and the buildings began as a stronghold for the rulers of Ireland but
developed into a palace of the viceroys of Ireland. Today, the only of
remnant of the Norman castle is the Record Tower, one of the original
towers of the Castle of Dublin constructed between 1202 and 1228. Also
in the Castle and adjoining the record tower is the Church of the Most
Holy Trinity, a small neo-gothic building (1807) by Francis Johnson.
Formerly the Chapel Royal, it was taken over by the Catholic Church in
1943. The exterior is decorated with more than 90 carved heads of
English monarchs and other historical figures.
Just to the right, before reaching the St Cathedral, is Fishamble
Street, the A medieval "fish shambles" or fish market of Dublin. Here
stood the Music Rooms where on April 13, 1742, Handel attended the
first performance of his Messiah. Because of the smallness of the hall
and the expectation of a large attendance, the ladies were asked not
to wear hooped skirts and the gentlemen not to wear their swords.
Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus" also had its first performance here in
1748, but nothing now remains of the old Music Rooms.
Back out on Cork Hill, walk up Lord Edward Street, named for the
republican nobleman Lord Edward FitzGerald, a leader of the 1798
rebellion, to Christ Church, the Cathedral. Christ Church Cathedral
was originally founded in the early part of the eleventh century, by
Sitric, son of Amlave, King of the Danes of Dublin, in conjunction
with Donatus, the first Danish bishop. The oldest portions of the
church are the transepts, some of the arches of which display chevron
mouldings, and the doorway, which forms the principal entrance, is
completely Norman. Christ Church Cathedral is the Church of Ireland
(Anglican) Cathedral for the combined dioceses of Dublin and
Glendalough. It stands on the Hill of Dublin and is fronted by a green
churchyard in which there are remains of the old chapter house built
in 1230. The exterior of the Cathedral was restored in a lavish and
flamboyant manner in 1875 at the expense of a wealthy Dublin whiskey
distiller, and it now bears little resemblance to the original
building, which was the only cathedral of Norse foundation in Britain
and Ireland. The church was greatly enlarged in Norman times under the
aegis of Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, popularly
known as 'Strongbow' and one of Ireland's most renowned invaders,
landed at Passage, Co. Waterford with a thousand men-at-arms; the
central tower was built around 1600 after storm and fire damage to the
steeples. Lambert Simnel, 10-year-old pretender to the English throne,
was crowned here by his supporters in 1487. Above ground, all that
remains of the old building are the north wall of the nave, the
transepts and the west bay of the choir. In the south aisle is a tomb
said by local tradition to be that of Strongbow, who died in 1176. The
tomb itself bears an armoured effigy which, experts believe, may be
that of an Earl of Drogheda.
Under the Cathedral, in the crypt, its rough-hewn arches with the
wooden wedges used in the Viking construction still intact, we are at
last in old Dublin. But what remains of the old city is no great
credit to those in whom the trust of the city's government has been
placed, particularly in recent years. Those who declared the 1988
Millennium celebrations also built their Civic Offices on an ancient
Viking site between Christ Church and the Liffey. They annihilated the
ancient High Street in a road-widening programme. On the other side of
Christ Church place, back towards the Castle, stands the church of St.
Werburgh. The composer John Field (1782-1837), who invented the
nocturne and spent most of his adult life in Russia, was baptised
here. In the vault of the church are the remains of Lord Edward
Fitzgerald. Walking back into Christ Church place and across to High
Street, you see the rather forlorn looking Tailor's Hall, Dublin's
only surviving guildhall. It was closed in 1960 and seemed doomed to
demolition, like so much of old Dublin, but it was saved by a
successful appeal and restored. It now houses the offices of An Taisce
(the National Trust), which works to preserve the country's natural
and architectural heritage.
Across the street is the large Catholic Church of St. Audoen, famous
in recent Dublin lore for Father Flash Kavanagh, a priest who read the
Mass more quickly than any other and drew large congregations of the
less devout who wished to get their Sunday obligation over with as
quickly as possible and be home for lunch. Close by, but smaller and
much older, is the Church of Ireland St. Audoen's, the only surviving
medieval parish church in Dublin. The tower and door are from the 12th
century and the aisle from the 15th. St. Audoen's, named by the
Normans after St. Ouen of Rouen, houses Dublin's oldest peal of bells
- one of them was struck in 1492, the year Columbus sailed for
America.
A detour from Christ Church Place, southward down Patrick Street for
400 metres brings you to Dublin's second Cathedral, St. Patrick's. The
National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, it was founded in 1191 by
Archbishop John Comyn as a rival to Christ Church, which had become an
independent monastic settlement under St. Laurence O'Toole. St.
Patrick's, the largest and most impressive church in Ireland, also
contains the country's most interesting collection of funerary
monuments, including that of Jonathan Swift, the Cathedral's Dean from
1713 to 1745. Swift was laid to rest beside his beloved Stella (Esther
Johnson). His self-penned epitaph reads: "He is laid where bitter
indignation can no longer lacerate his heart. Go traveller and imitate
if you can one who was, to the best of his powers, a defender of
Liberty." Among the many other monuments in the cathedral is one to
Turlough O'Carolan, the most celebrated of Ireland's harpists, and one
of the last of the old bards. In the south transept, there is an old
door in which a rough hole is cut. In 1492, a quarrel took place over
precedence at a ceremony between the Earls of Kildare and Ormonde and
their armed followers. After Ormonde had hidden in the chapter house
the parties were reconciled and a hole cut in the door so that the
Earls could shake hands and make their peace.
Also in St. Patrick's are the banners of Irish regiments of the
British Army, most of them disbanded on the foundation of the Irish
Free State. The banners of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers may be of
particular interest to Australian visitors. The "Dubs", as they were
known, were drawn to a great extent from the crowded, deprived area
near the Cathedral known as "the Liberties" (because it lay outside
the jurisdiction of medieval Dublin). The regiment fought with
distinction alongside the Australian and New Zealand forces in the
Dardanelles at Gallipoli in World War 1 and locals say that in the
Coombe, the area's winding main thoroughfare, there was no house whose
door was not draped in black flag in the month of April in 1915.
Next to St. Patrick's on the left as you leave is Marsh's Library in
St. Patrick's Close. This is Ireland's oldest public library, founded
by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh in 1702. Books were especially coveted
things in those days and several are still chained to the shelves;
there are also three cages into which readers of precious volumes were
locked. Among many interesting items is Swift's copy of Clarendon's
"History of the Great Rebellion", with the dean's pencilled notes in
the margins. Leaving the Library, turn left, continue down St.
Patrick's Close and turn right into Kevin Street. On your right is the
Deanery of St. Patrick's. Go straight on, cross Patrick Street into
Dean Street and turn right into Francis Street. Once a busy shopping
area. Francis Street has become in recent years a centre of the
antique trade. Halfway up the street on the right is the Church of St.
Nicholas of Myra (1832). Once the Catholic pro-cathedral of Dublin,
its former jurisdiction over the Catholics of the Isle of Man
continued the link between Dublin and that island established in Norse
times. At the end of Francis Street, turn left into Thomas Street; on
the right is the Augustinian church known to locals simply as John's
Lane; it has the tallest spire in Dublin. The building immediately to
the left (1791) was formerly John Power's distillery. Power's Whiskey,
still the most popular in Ireland, was made there until the Irish
Distillers company, formed by the amalgamation of Power's and several
other distillers, A moved all its production to Midleton, Co. Cork.
To return to central Dublin, turn right and follow the line of the
South Quays. The earlier part of the journey is through one of the
areas of Dublin most devastated by urban blight-a sad sight for
visitors but sadder for Dubliners who know that once the proudest of
the city's buildings lined the Liffey. You are now travelling parallel
to the James's Street-Thomas Street-High Street "spine" of old Dublin.
On your right you will find Bridge Street which nowadays is hardly a
street at all (road widening again). It does, however, contain The
Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub. It is believed that an inn stood
here even in Viking times but the present establishment dates from
1688. It served as the headquarters of the United Irishmen in the
1790s.
Back on the quays, further towards the city centre, you find, directly
opposite the Four Courts, the Franciscan Church (1830) at Merchant's
Quay. Known to Dubliners as "Adam and Eve's", it is reputed to be the
only church on earth named after a pub-an inn known as Adam and Eve's
once stood on the site, and Mass was celebrated there in penal times.
The church's official dedication is to the Immaculate Conception.
Behind the church and parallel to the quay is Cook Street. Once the
headquarters of the coffin makers of Dublin, it now contains the best
surviving remnant of the medieval city wall and its only surviving
gate. The steps from the gate lead upwards to the old Church of
Ireland parish church of St. Audeon in High Street.
The next quay towards town is Wood Quay, where new civic offices were
built in recent years directly in front of the north facade of Christ
Church Cathedral, a juxtaposition which caused many Dubliners to be
less confident still about the judgement of those who control their
city council. The controversy was fuelled further when site
excavations revealed the layout of the original Viking settlement and
uncovered many valuable remains-of houses, walls, quays and artefacts.
Despite a vocal public campaign for the preservation of Wood Quay as
an historic site, building went ahead after removal of the remains.
You can form your own opinion about the squat, concrete new offices.
A short distance onwards, our tour of old Dublin comes to an end at
the Church of Saints Michael and John, the first church to open in the
city after the "Relief Bill" of 1829, which allowed Roman Catholics
freedom of worship ("Catholic Emancipation"). Parliament Street, on
the right, leads to the City Hall. Turn left there, back down Dame
Street to College Green. That's it Holly, you've walked the streets of
Dublin in the footsteps of the Vikings that built it.
K. E. Dennis
> I think most Down's syndrome kids are short and fat with dark hair.
[snipped the rest]
I'm sorry, but this is mistaken. There is no single phenotype for children w/
Down's syndrome, & there is no genetic link btwn trisomy-21 & hair colour
[except, of course, that the human default colour for hair is brown].
Look, for example, @ the pictures @
http://www.pilot.infi.net/~jwheaton/dsnet.html &
http://www.dsamt.toronto.on.ca/
Height & body mass in people w/ Downs also can be quite variable, but more
closely resemble the features of kin than of any 'disease typology'.
Some indiv'ls w/ Downs do have metabolic problems that can predispose an
indiv'l to be overweight, but it is not entirely clear that this is causally
linked to the syndrome.
Furthermore, it's hard to separate biological factors from environmental ones
when it comes to wt, even in people w/o [identified] genetic syndromes. People
w/ Downs often have not been encouraged to engage in regular physical exercise,
& the natural result [if caloric intake is not restricted] is weight gain - just
as it would be in the rest of us.
respectfully submitted,
|K. E. Dennis den...@mail.montclair.edu
|My employer is not responsible for my opinions,
|regardless of how sensible they are.
FC Dynamo Unki 1898
>I think most Down's syndrome kids are short and fat with dark hair.
No that's Mary Hearny's future kids.
Holly
>
> Here is Unki's post, retrieved via deja. I wanted it myself, because I
would
> like to visit that part of Dublin but, in particular, I liked the pig
story.
> Unki: you are appreciated.
>
> James Lee
Thank you very much.
Holly
Holly
FC Dynamo Unki 1898 <kfuzzbo...@tinet.ie> wrote in message
news:3b859a6e...@news1.tinet.ie...
That is good news indeed. :)
Holly
Holly
> On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 13:24:54 GMT, "Holly" <HOLLY...@PRODIGY.NET>
> wrote:
>
>
> >Unki's post about the medieval streets of Dublin and GA's post about the
> >bogs. The information was greatly appreciated. If you don't mind, I wish
> >they would be re-posted due to the fact that I had intentions of printing
> >them off and bringing them on my trip for reference. Stepping down one
foot
> >to a medieval realm is an experience I wish to have.
< printed and snipped>
>The controversy was fuelled further when site
> excavations revealed the layout of the original Viking settlement and
> uncovered many valuable remains-of houses, walls, quays and artefacts.
> Despite a vocal public campaign for the preservation of Wood Quay as
> an historic site, building went ahead after removal of the remains.
> You can form your own opinion about the squat, concrete new offices.
It's like something is missing from the world now.
>Turn left there, back down Dame
> Street to College Green. That's it Holly, you've walked the streets of
> Dublin in the footsteps of the Vikings that built it.
The information was very much appreciated. I will follow the route and visit
my thoughts back in olden times.
Holly
Holly
Cat <cathy_ie@(spamfree)yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9a8h7.4047$s5.5...@news.indigo.ie...
>
> "Holly" <HOLLY...@PRODIGY.NET> wrote in message
> news:Gu7h7.6053$B41.74...@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com...
> > Well, I'm taking it under advisement that the dinner party would be a
bit
> > much for me on my short stay, so I am crawling off with my tail between
me
> > legs in respects to this idea. I am suffering a grave disappointment,
> > because it is a fine, fine idea.
>
> Indeed it is, and one which does you a great deal of honour, Holly. Look
at
> it this way: we'll hold you to the dinner party when you're installed in
> your 3 bed semi in Templeogue ;-)
Stranger things have happen. Hmmmm....I haven't checked my Lottery or
Powerball tickets from Wednesday yet. I'll do that in a minute. In the event
that I am now a very wealthy woman, you will shortly see building started on
"Holly Merkan's Chowder House." It will be overlooking Dublin Bay and have
that old wharf charm with a deck for use, if weather permits. Additionally,
there will be a roaring pinon wood (what the hell would that cost to import)
fire going inside, antler chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a 6 ft
tall wooden carving of a brown bear standing in the corner. A large wreath
of dried herbs and flowers over the fireplace. The menu will include:
New England Clam Chowder
Chincoteque Oyster Stew
Wild Mushroom Soup
Maryland Crab Soup
Potato Leek Soup
Shrimp Mousse
Artichoke Dip
Spinache Dip
Steamed Mussels
Greek Pie
Stuffed Mushrooms
Assortment of French Cheeses
Maryland Crab Imperial
Maryland Crab Cakes
Sauted Sea Scallops
Poached Wild Salmon
Stuffed Flounder
Western Omelette
Holly's Rocky Mountain Campfire Sandwiches
Lamb Stew
Buffalo Stew (served in a hollowed-out loaf of round bread)
T-Bone Steak
Blue Burgers (roquefort cheese)
Wild, Maine, Blueberry Pie
Boston Bread Pudding
Washington State Apple Tart
Philly Cheese Cake (w/o that silly fruit on the top)
Darjeeling, Earl Grey and Black Tea
Espresso
Orange Seville Coffee
All tables surrounding a well-stocked bar and seafaring music playing in the
background with a little Satchmo, Glen Miller, and Frank Sinatra thrown in
for good measure to assure that authentic Merkan experience. Big, comfy,
moss green, easy chairs in front of the fire and cream-colored lace
tableclothes and curtains to soften the look. Paintings from local artists
will be hanging on the walls and available for sale. Pots of fresh herbs
will be on each table. A good selection of cognac, pipe tobacco, and cigars
will be available.
Sorry, got carried away. :)
> Meanwhile, I hope you have a terrific time when you visit.
> Cat(h)
Thank you. :)
Holly
Holly
Serious or not, it's a good idea and it will happen, one day. And, table
manners are not a problem as long as you don't spit on me clean floor. Other
than that, I can just hose you down after your meal and you'll be good as
new. :)
Holly
Holly
John Cowman <johnc...@eircom.net> wrote in message
news:p9ah7.4065$s5.5...@news.indigo.ie...
A tear is coming to me eye. And, when I must leave, if I feel like my heart
is being ripped out, it will be that force which will draw me back. But,
we do not appreciate those things that are easily obtained. So, we push on.
:)
Holly