Old maps of Dublin: Viking & Medieval Dublin to the early modern era. 1,200 years of change. The image below is the first known image of Ireland. It was drawn as part of a larger map, around 200AD, by the legendary Ptolemy, often called the Father of Geography. Culturally speaking, Ptolemy was Greek, but he… Read More Maps of Dublin, old Speed’s map reveals history of Dublin.
Origins of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Part One- the chapel on the island & early Celtic church, and reflections on early Irish Culture. Take a look at St Patrick’s cathedral in Dublin. It’s not hard to fathom there was once a tiny Celtic-era church here on this site. What may be slightly harder to grasp today… Read More Origins of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Part One- the chapel on the island & early Celtic church.
The story of The Two cathedrals, Background. There are two bits of background we have to know to understand the twist. First of all, in 1163, the Irish archbishop of Dublin Laurence O’Toole made Christ Church cathedral a Priory Order. This essentially meant Christ Church became a sort of Abbey or Monastery, ruled by Augustan… Read More Story of Saint Patrick Cathedral, Part 3: Anglo-Normans, and the story of the 2 cathedrals.
It has been the maddest few weeks of work for a very long time… For many years now I have run cultural programs for schools and colleges, or led one-off tours for schools and language schools, of history or art history, around the city of Dublin. Sometimes I take them to the National Museum, or… Read More Exciting times… and a new start.
Important Note 2: Note on photography, maps, and image credits. all photographs in this article are by the author, unless otherwise noted. I’m not precious about it but if you wish to use an image please contact me and if I provide permission naturally I’d like to get a basic acknowledgement and credit and please provide a link… Read More The Origins of Saint Patricks cathedral – part one. 430AD to the early Celtic church.
The Channel crossing over, sailing from Plymouth, a naval town in SW England over to Brittany, was long, cold, and grim, shrouded in fog and darkness. Most of our time through the night is spent scanning the radar, anxious to avoid a collision with one of the many massive tankers cruising through the dark. Even… Read More France at last, Dublin to Concarneau, part iv, L’Aberwrach.
Arran Q Henderson 