Libraries and Gardens and Cathedrals - Oh My!

As I've mentioned before, our family visited Ireland a few years ago, but we stayed in and around Shannon, and didn't stray far from the west coast. The 2 "biggies" on my list that were out of reach then were the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, and the Book of Kells in Dublin. I finally got to see the former on 7th April, and the latter on 11th May.

The Book of Kells dates back to about 800, and is a lavishly decorated copy, in Latin, of the 4 Gospels. Before we saw the real thing, there was a very interesting exhibition on the production of illuminated manuscripts. Afterwards, we climbed the stairs and walked through the Long Room, which is also part of the Old Library at Trinity College. And, as is usually the case, the exit was through...the gift shop.



In the afternoon it was time to divide and conquer. Dave headed off for a pub where he could do some work and then watch a Premier League football match on the last day of the season. I spent several hours in the Sacred Traditions Gallery at the Chester Beatty Library. Included among its treasures are beautiful illuminated copies of the Qur'an, scrolls and artwork from eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, and fragments of biblical manuscripts that date all the way back to between 150 and 250. That's old!



After a rainy morning and a cloudy afternoon on Saturday, our next 2 days in Dublin were gorgeous. On Sunday, we walked back to our hotel via St. Stephen's Green.



And on Monday, we walked back to our hotel via Merrion Square. I'd like to think that I'll return home a much more inspired gardener, but I'm not holding my breath....



If Sunday was Library Day, then Monday was Cathedral Day. I usually don't pay much attention to the monuments, but one in St. Patrick's Cathedral was rather appropriate. The Boyle monument is for Richard Boyle and his wife. Along the bottom are statues of their children, and this figure in the middle is their son Robert, a chemist and physicist. (Remember Boyle's Law? Of course you do! For a fixed amount of gas at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional. Mathematically, that's PV = k.) Dave's grandfather, father, and mother are all chemists. This monument reminded us that Dave was jokingly told that if he didn't want to be a chemist, he at least had to marry one. So he did.



Every cathedral has a baptismal font. Some are rather plain and attract very little attention, while others are very ornate and/or of great historical importance. (At Norwich Cathedral, the font is made from 2 large copper bowls that came from the local chocolate factory when it closed down!) Dave and I were really impressed with this one in Christ Church Cathedral. It is made out of marbles from all over Ireland, and each different colour is a different piece of marble.



So there you have it - 2 libraries, 2 gardens, 2 cathedrals, 2 days.