A Trek Through Dublin Churches, Part Two

 For the second part of my series, I've taken three churches that are very familiar to me.

The first is the Holy Spirit Church in Ballymun.

I can fairly say that this is the church most familiar to me in the whole world. It was right across the road from the flat where I grew up and where I spent the first twenty-three years of my life. I could see it from my kitchen window. Many of the landmarks in my family history occurred there, including my mother's funeral. 

The Holy Spirit church is ten minutes walk from its virtual twin, the Virgin Mary. Many landmarks in my family history also occurred in the Virgin Mary, including my father's funeral and my First Communion.

It will come as no surprise that the Holy Spirit is my favourite church in the whole world, and in fact my ideal church. It's the kind of bright, modest, plain, comfortable suburban church that appeals to me immensely. This is the sort of church in which I feel most at home, an obvious consequence of childhood associations and nostalgia. This despite the fact that I had no great grá for going to church as a child, and in fact the only time I enjoyed it was on Christmas Eve.

In fact, the Holy Spirit was my first church a second time around; when I started going to church of my own accord, many many years later, I went to the Holy Spirit. Not immediately, though; I was so unsure about genuflections and responses that I spent a few weeks getting the hang of it in Our Lady of Victories in Glasnevin, a safe distance from anyone who might recognize me and see me floundering!

My second church today is Our Lady Seat of Wisdom church in University College Dublin. I don't know how often I've been to Mass in this church, but it's undoubtedly hundreds of times. We are blessed to have lunch-time Mass on campus in UCD.

Again, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom is the kind of plain, warm church that greatly appeals to me, especially the prominent use of wood in its interior.

This year, the church acquired a beautiful new altar, which has John Henry Newman's motto "Cor ad cor loquitur" carved into it. As you may already know, Newman was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University in Dublin, the predecessor of UCD. There's also a portrait of Newman hanging to the right of the altar, as you can see above. It was painted by the late brother of one of the chaplains. (It's been uncharacteristically sunny in Ireland recently, hence the haziness of some of the pictures.)

This is actually the second Taizé cross which has hung above the altar. I like it very much. I'm not particularly a fan of realism in sacred art; realism often fails to convey an appropriate sense of wonder and the sacred.

The confessionals are in regular use.

The shrine of Mary lights up when you step towards it. I love this statue. Its unpainted, unvarnished simplicity seems very appropriate to Our Lady.

Both the statute of our Lord with his arms outstretched, and the stations of the Cross, are new. Praying the stations of the Cross in this church is always a very moving experience; Friday is always a quiet day on campus, and the church is often deserted.

My third church is Our Lady Queen of Peace in Merrion Road, where I've been living since 2020. It's right across the road from me.

I'm not particularly fond of this church. It's huge and cold and grey, although it was also built in the sixties (as were the other churches featured in this post). The round-tower is a nice touch, though.

The huge crucifix behind the altar, with the cross set against a shiny gold disc, is its most distinctive feature. I like its strangeness and its otherworldliness.

There is a shrine to St. Oliver Plunkett, something I've never seen in any other church in Ireland.

My least favourite thing about the church is the fact that QR-code stickers are plastered all over the pews, soliciting donations. Wherever you sit, there's one right in front of you. I think it's tacky and in bad taste. The parish is run by Opus Dei, who I assume are not hard up for a few quid. On the plus side, it's open from early morning until late evening, and the preaching is suitably orthodox. It also provides the latest Sunday Mass in Dublin, that I know of, at nine p.m, and confession is regularly available.