Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [68]
Like Christ Church Cathedral (opposite), the building has suffered a rather dramatic history of storm and fire damage. Oliver Cromwell, during his 1649 visit to Ireland, converted St Patrick’s to a stable for his army’s horses, an indignity to which he also subjected numerous other Irish churches. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, was the dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745, but prior to its restoration it was very neglected.
Entering the cathedral from the southwestern porch you come almost immediately, on your right, to the graves of Swift and his longtime companion Esther Johnson, aka Stella. On the wall nearby are Swift’s own Latin epitaphs to the two of them, and a bust of Swift.
The huge, dusty Boyle Monument to the left was erected in 1632 by Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, and is decorated with numerous painted figures of members of his family. The figure in the centre on the bottom level is the earl’s five-year-old son Robert Boyle (1627–91), who grew up to become a noted scientist. His contributions to physics include Boyle’s Law, which relates the pressure and volume of gases.
The cathedral’s choir school dates back to 1432, and the choir took part in the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1742 (see the boxed text, Click here). You can hear the choir sing matins at 9.40am and evensong at 5.35pm Monday to Friday (except Wednesday evening) during the school year. The carols performed around Christmas are a real treat; call 453 9472 for details of how to obtain a hard-to-get ticket.
To get to the cathedral, take bus 50, 50A or 56A from Aston Quay, or bus 54 or 54A from Burgh Quay.
MARSH’S LIBRARY
One of the city’s most beautiful open secrets is Marsh’s Library (Map; 454 3511; www.marshlibrary.ie; St Patrick’s Close; adult/child/student €2.50/free/1.50; 10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon & Wed-Fri, 10.30am-1pm Sat), a barely visited antique library with a look and atmosphere that has hardly changed since it opened its doors to awkward scholars in 1707. It’s just around the corner from St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Crammed into its elaborately carved oak bookcases are over 25,000 books dating from the 16th to early 18th centuries, as well as maps, numerous manuscripts and a collection of incunabula (books printed before 1500). One of the oldest and finest tomes in the collection is a volume of Cicero’s Letters to His Friends printed in Milan in 1472.
The building was commissioned by Archbishop Narcissus March (1638–1713) and designed by Sir William Robinson, the creator of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (now the Irish Museum of Modern Art;); today it is one of the few 18th-century buildings in Dublin still used for the purpose for which it was built. In short, it’s a bloody gorgeous place and you’d be mad not to visit.
ST WERBURGH’S CHURCH
Of undoubtedly ancient but imprecise origin, St Werburgh’s (Map; 478 3710; Werburgh St; admission by donation; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri) has undergone numerous facelifts: in 1662, 1715 and, with some elegance, in 1759 (after a fire in 1754). The church’s tall spire was dismantled after Robert Emmet’s uprising in 1803 for fear that rebels might use it as a vantage point for snipers. The church is closely linked with the history of uprisings against British rule; interred