Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
St Patrick’s Tide
To commemorate the 300th anniversary of St Anne’s church, Shandon, an Irish Language Service of Holy Communion, organised by Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise during Seachtain na Gaeilge, will take place in St Anne’s church on Thursday at 7.30PM . The address will be given by Dr Padraig O Riain, Emeritus Professor of Early and Medieval Irish in UCC.
The Diocese of Down & Dromore has announced that the special guest at this year’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Down Cathedral will be the Most Revd Laurent Mbanda, Archbishop of Rwanda.
The theme is ‘Reconciliation’, a topic familiar to Archbishop Laurent who has been at the forefront of helping many in Rwanda deal with the impact and aftermath of the 1994 genocide. The archbishop was himself a child refugee from the ethnic tensions that erupted into organised massacres in Rwanda in 1959. He fled to Burundi with his mother at the age of five and has written about his experiences in From Barefoot to Bishop: A Rwandan Refugee’s Journey.
The celebrations will begin on Friday with Holy Communion at St Patrick’s Memorial Church, Saul, where the preacher will be the Dean of Down,
the Very Revd Henry Hull. This will be followed by the Prayer Pilgrimage to Downpatrick for the Festival Service in Down Cathedral at 11.45am. when Archbihop Mbanda will preach.
At 1.00pm there will be a wreath laying ceremony at the traditional site of St Patrick’s Grave followed by a complimentary ‘Picnic in the Pews’.
In St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, the Patronal Festival Eucharist will be celebrated at 11.15am and at 6pm the cathedral will host a Dublin Council of Churches St Patrick’s Day service which will be attended by the Archbishop of Dublin.
In St Fin Barre’s cathedral, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross will preside at Festival Eucharist and Civic Service followed by a reception hosted by the Bishop and Mrs Colton at the Bishop’s Palace.
As the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement draws close, Saint Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin is hosting a concert which is designed to enhance relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The concert takes place this evening (Saturday) at 7.30 p.m. and features three brass bands – one from Derry, the other two from Dublin – which will provide a concert performance, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Roof Appeal of Saint Patrick’s.
The Britannia Brass Band from Derry/Londonderry is considered to be the longest established band of its kind in Northern Ireland, dating back to 1866; the Saint James’s Brass and Reed Band, from Mount Brown, Dublin, is thought to be the oldest band in the Republic, being formed in the early 1700s; and the Communications Workers’ Union Band, in which many An Post workers are members, is the only remaining union band in Ireland.
Tickets are available on Saint Patrick’s website: www.stpatrickscathedral.ie
Today (Saturday) at 12.30pm David O’Shea will give a Lenten organ recital in Sandford church, Ranelagh, which will feature musical reflections on the Trinity.
Tomorrow (Sunday) in Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, the series of Lenten sermons at the 11am Sung Eucharist on the theme of repentance and reconciliation continues with a sermon from Naoimh McNamee, Director of the Glencree Reconciliation Centre.
On Tuesday the lunchtime lectures on the theme of music continue in Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, at 1.10pm. Dr Kerry Houston, from Technical University Dublin, will speak on ‘The Roseingraves & 18th Century Cathedral Music in Dublin’.
Published in the Saturday edition of The Irish Times