Saturday, September 22nd, Dublin, Ireland
We arrived safely in Ireland after a very short sleep on the plane. We met our guide Sheila and our able driver Sean, and we think we will be in good hands throughout the tour. On Friday, most of the group visited the Jameson Distillery while a few others saw an ancient bogman at the Museum of Archaeology. Most of the pubs were filled with enthusiastic fans watching Ireland play France in a major game in the Rugby World Cup. While we still understand little of the rules of Rugby, we did discover players are sometimes sent to the "Sin Bin" (perhaps a good alternative to Confession), but we are unconvinced that "Blood Substitutions" have anything to do with Transubstantiation.
To view the group photo at Jameson Distillery, go to the parish website - http://www.stpatrick-edina.org/liturgy_music/index.php
On Saturday, we put our rugby skills to good use as we elbowed German tourists aside in order to see the Book of Kells on the campus of Trinity College. This afternoon we have our first two performances and then back to the pubs.
To view the photo of the bell ringers at Clonliffe College, go to the parish website @ http://www.stpatrick-edina.org/liturgy_music/index.php
Monday, September 24th, Blarney Ireland
We're halfway through our Ireland trip and taking a well deserved day off from performing. Spirits are high and flowing freely (at least if you visit one of the many local pubs.) We received a very warm welcome at Clonliffe College where the bell choir performed for the Diocesan Liturgy conference. Bell choirs in Ireland are as common as leprechauns in America, which is to say they are a bit of novelty. Many in the audience were thrilled to hear this form of music for the first time and said that we had added a great deal to the final event of the conference.
Later that evening, both the choir and the bell choir celebrated mass at St. Mary's Pro Cathedral, one of the most important Catholic Churches in Dublin. Father Greg concelebrated, and we got to hear the Lord's Prayer recited in Gaelic. Sunday morning it was off to Whitefrairs Street Church where we sang, rang, preached and generally shared good cheer with the Irish parishioners. Later that evening, good cheer was shared with us in a pub in Waterford when we ran into a group from Pennsylvania who had been at the service.
Today, we went to the Waterford Crystal factory where we had a smashing time.
To view parishioner Dave Paulson with the Ryder Cup Trophy at the Waterford Crystal factory go to the parish website - http://www.stpatrick-edina.org/liturgy_music/index.php
After Waterford, we were on to Blarney where many in the group kissed the famous stone. Your intrepid blogging team, however, sacrificed this experience to work diligently on keeping the larger community up to date and informed.
Go to the parish website - http://www.stpatrick-edina.org/liturgy_music/index.php to view the photo of the intrepid blogging team hard at work on the blog.