Dear Old City By the Lee

In Ireland, there are some very beautiful scenic regions. Here are a few examples.

Evangelical Christians (which is what I am 😀) tend to meet in modern buildings or rent buildings such as community halls or schools. Many take little interest in church history. Perhaps we prefer to focus on the New Testament. But I do like church history, and I like church buildings, ancient and modern. Even in Cork, though I left the Roman Catholic church back in 1980, I do like all the church buildings, especially the older ones. Interestingly, though the Protestant population of Ireland is quite small, they’ve managed to hold onto many of the most beautiful old church buildings. An example is St Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick, which goes back to the 12th Century.

At the reformation, in Ireland, as in England, the official church became Protestant. The Irish population were quite negative towards the English, and they remained Roman Catholic, but they weren’t really able to build their own churches until the mid-nineteenth century. So, all the nicest church buildings, such as St Anne’s, Shandon and St Fin Barre’s cathedral in Cork, are Protestant. Some evangelical church buildings are also quite attractive. An example is Cork Baptist Church, which is where I got married. The church was founded in 1640, but the current building was built in 1892.

Of course, churches should really be about people rather than buildings. But just the same, I do like all the beautiful church buildings across the world. Near where I live, there’s Mungret Abbey. Mungret was an early monastic site, founded before AD 551 by Saint Nessan.

One of my favourite spots in Ireland is the Garnish Island in Glengarriff. The Italian Garden was created in the early 20th Century, so it can hardly be described as ancient, but it’s in the midst of a very beautiful area that extends from West Cork to Killarney in County Kerry.

I always like to end with a Bible verse and a hymn. When I’m in beautiful places, I often think about the garden of paradise. You get all sorts of debates about whether such a thing should be taken literally. Was the world ever so perfect? And even if it was, was it ever going to remain perfect? Whatever about the past, I believe that it will be perfect in the future. And it will remain perfect for eternity. So, all the beauty that I see now is just a foretaste of what’s to come.

Romans 8:21
“The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”

Some Key Events in the History of Cork

• 7th Century – Founding by St. Finbarr
• 820 – Viking Raid and Settlement
• 1172 – Norman Conquest
• 1491 – Perkin Warbeck’s Rebellion Cork supported Warbeck’s claim to the English throne, earning the nickname “Rebel Cork” after the failed uprising
• 1690 – Siege of Cork The city was besieged and captured by William of Orange’s forces, resulting in the destruction of its medieval walls
• 1902 – Cork Exhibition – YouTube Footage of Cork in 1902
• 1920 – Burning of Cork

Some Key Events in the History of Limerick

• 922 – Viking Settlement
• 1168 – Construction of St. Mary’s Cathedral
• 1195 – Norman Capture of Limerick
• 1200-1210 – Construction of King John’s Castle
• 1642–1691 – Four Major Sieges – culminating in the Treaty of Limerick and the Flight of the Wild Geese
• 1919 – The Limerick Soviet