Saint Patrick Cathedral

Every city has a major religious building. The same is for Dublin where Saint Patrick's Cathedral (in Irish: Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland.

With its 43-metre (141 ft) spire, St. Patrick's is the tallest church in Ireland and the largest as well. In 1192, John Comyn, first Anglo-Norman Archbishop of Dublin, elevated one of the four Dublin Celtic parish churches, this one dedicated to Saint Patrick, beside a holy well of the same name. This stone was found just below St. Patrick's Well.

Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland. Here you can admire his monument.

Many historical events took place here. Legend says that Gerald Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, cut a hole in a door of the cathedra and thrust his arm through it to shake hands in friendship, in an effort to call a truce in the Butler–FitzGerald dispute with James, Earl of Ormond in 1492. Here the expression "chancing your arm" (meaning to take a risk) originated. You can see the Door of Reconciliation in the cathedral.

Another important object in the cathedral is The Tree of Remembrance. This barren tree seeks to remember all those who have been affected by conflict, anywhere in the world.

There are also many other places reminding of all the brave people and horses who lost their lives in the wars all over the world.

But the cathedral commemorates also the ones who came to Ireland to seek a new home. In 1666, the Cathedral Chapter offered the Lady Chapel for the use of French-speaking Huguenots who had fled to Ireland, and after some repair and preparation works, it became known as L'Eglise Française de St Patrick. A lease was signed on 23 December 1665 and was renewed from time to time until the special services ceased in 1816, by which time the Huguenots had been fully assimilated into the city population.

Here is the Lady Chappel in its whole beauty.

And here you can admire the main nave.

Unusually, St Patrick's is not the seat of a bishop, as the Archbishop of Dublin has his seat in Christ Church Cathedral. Since 1870, the Church of Ireland has designated St Patrick's as the national cathedral for the whole of Ireland, drawing chapter members from each of the twelve dioceses of the Church of Ireland. You can find their flags over their seats.

The dean is the ordinary for the cathedral; this office has existed since 1219. The most famous office holder was Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745.

His grave and epitaph can be seen in the cathedral, along with those of his friend Stella.

Stella's real name was Esther Johnson. Whether Swift and Stella were married has always been a subject of intense debate.

The question is important because wifes in Dublin are special sort. But let's discover it next week.