As with the 2000s, and most of the 1990s, I spent the 2010s in Tipperary Christian Fellowship. In 2011, Mallow Street Christian Fellowship, in Limerick, allowed us to join with them in a series of baptisms. We had three baptised from Tipperary, including two of my own children, then in their early teens. I also remember hearing Philip De Courcy at the Aontas conference. He was born in Northern Ireland and trained in the Irish Baptist College but eventually ended up in California. And Limerick Baptist Church got a new Pastor that year.
And we had a Christianity Explored series in Tipperary in October. We did this several times throughout the 2010s. And we sometimes had a similar series on Theology, using Wayne Grudem DVDs. I also remember going through 1 Peter and Judges on Sunday mornings in Tipperary.
In 2011, famous atheist and scientist, Richard Dawkins did a reading from the King James Version of the Bible. Despite his atheism, he does have a love for Christian culture. I’ve always enjoyed listening to sharp thinkers such as Richard Dawkins and Peter Atkins.
They are opposed to religion, but have a deep desire to know the truth, and they see science as the only way to do that. Funnily enough, I think they have done a lot to get people investigating Christianity in recent years. In my 2007 post, I mention visiting a Christians in Science conference in Maynooth, where speakers responded intelligently to Dawkins. The so-called “new atheism” has faded a little. There’s nothing new about atheism really.
Some popular worship songs from 2011 include the following:
10,000 Reasons was hugely popular in the years that followed. I frequently point out that we didn’t sing any of these very modern songs in Tipperary. We used the Christian Hymns and Mission Praise hymn books. But, now that I’m getting old 😀, I’m trying to act like some of the nice elderly people that I knew in my younger days. They rejoiced to see young people worshipping. They didn’t just despise everything modern. They took a “cup half full” rather than a “cup half empty” approach.
In 2011, we went to Brean Sands near Weston-super-Mare for our summer holidays. Trips from our base included Cheddar Gorge, Wells, Bristol, Lynmouth, Bath, Castle Combe, Lacock Abbey, Fleet Air Arm museum, Weymouth, and Lyme Regis. It’s a lovely part of the world. I’d like to go there again. These days, I generally do that on YouTube and Wander.
I remember having a sore back on the last day of the holiday. I hung around the car park near the beach while the rest of the family explored Weston-super-Mare. There was a big stage on the beach with people practicing for a concert to be held the next day “T4”. I kept hearing someone singing “Dance to the beat of my drum.”
I later discovered that it was a Nicola Roberts song. It must have been a sound check. So, now I associate that song with the summer of 2011, though Adele was probably the most well-known artist that year.
We went to Bath on the Sunday. There was some big evangelical event at Bath Abbey. I remember them all coming out and marching down to the park. I was too shy to ask anyone what it was. I should have asked them to heal my sore back 😀, but it was better by the next day in any case. Finally, I got an iPad for Christmas in 2011. I still have it, but it doesn’t really work very well. And my 2017 one crashes after 60 seconds. I might get a new one at Christmas. I’m a great fan of iPads.
Anyway, here are some music, events, and films/TV shows that would have formed the background to 2011. I don’t necessarily endorse all the songs or films 😀.
10 Songs of 2011
- Rolling in the Deep – Adele
- Someone Like You – Adele
- Price Tag – Jessie J feat. B.o.B
- I Need a Dollar – Aloe Blacc
- Every Tear Drop a Waterfall – Coldplay
- Set Fire to the Rain – Adele
- Beat of My Drum – Nicola Roberts
- Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri
- Moves like Jagger – Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera
- Paradise – Coldplay
10 Movies or TV Shows of 2011
- Rango
- The Muppets
- Cars 2
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
- Secret Millionaire (Ireland) (Irish TV Show)
10 News Events from 2011
- Arab Spring uprisings
- Death of Osama bin Laden
- Japan earthquake and tsunami
- Libyan Civil War and death of Muammar Gaddafi
- England riots
- New Zealand earthquake
- Syrian uprising begins
- Game of Thrones premieres
- Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton
- Coptic church bombing in Alexandria
I happened to notice in one of my diaries that Irish Taoiseach delivered a speech strongly criticizing the Vatican. Such a thing would never have happened in years gone by. It was regarded as a bit of a historical landmark. A Cork airport plane crash killed 6. The Queen of England visited Cork in 2011. And, President Barack Obama of the United States paid an official visit to Ireland, which included Dublin and his ancestral village of Moneygall. So many US presidents claimed Irish ancestry. President Trump’s roots are in Scotland and Germany. I remember when I was a child, the Irish saw President Kennedy as one of our own. I think we even had a picture of him in our home, alongside a pope 😀.
I like to watch Reeling in the Years to remind myself of what happened in Ireland each year since I was born. I think the series pretty much spans my own lifespan 😀. Actually, it stopped at 2019, but maybe they’ll continue it at some stage.
10 Famous People Who Passed Away in 2011
- Steve Jobs – Co-founder of Apple Inc., visionary tech entrepreneur
- Amy Winehouse – British soul singer known for Back to Black
- Elizabeth Taylor – Legendary Hollywood actress and humanitarian
- Joe Frazier – Former heavyweight boxing champion, rival of Muhammad Ali
- Peter Falk – Actor best known for playing Columbo
- Gerry Rafferty – Scottish singer-songwriter (Baker Street)
- Kim Jong-il – Supreme Leader of North Korea
- Betty Ford – Former U.S. First Lady and addiction recovery advocate
- Garret FitzGerald – Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland and leader of Fine Gael.
- Gary Moore – Northern Irish guitarist, known for his work with Thin Lizzy and solo blues albums
Hibernia Gospel 