As I mentioned in the previous instalment of this "trek", my knowledge of Dublin is scandalously bad, especially considering that I'm a lifelong Dubliner. I suppose this has its good side. My own city is still full of discoveries for me.
I knew nothing about Edenmore before I made my way to its church. Not even the name. It's an estate that was built in the sixties. Wikipedia says that, although it's officially part of Raheny, it has its own distinct local identity.
This is certainly true. The town centre is like a little village, and even has its own clocktower-- with every face of the clock stopped.
I grew up on the Northside of Dublin and I much prefer it. I've lived on the Southside for the last four years, and it's been very handy for access to UCD. But I feel much more at home on the Northside. Even hearing the local accent cheers me up.
It's ridiculous, but I think of the Northside and the Southside as Rohan and Gondor (a comparison drawn entirely from the films; I don't know the books well enough). The Southside has much more history and culture, for the most part, but the Northside always seems (metaphorically) windswept and rugged and salubrious. Which is ridiculous, because I'm pretty sure there's much more obesity north of the Liffey.
Enough of that. St. Monica's church is right next to a very pleasant park, and a little bit away from the shopping centre pictured above. It has a very distinctive exterior, which looks faintly Alpine or something.
Inside, the church is bright, clean, plain, and barn-like. Yes, reader, you guessed it, I like St. Monica's very much.
For a weekday morning Mass, there was a reasonable congregation (the pictures above were taken some time before it began). I was sitting near the wall of the church, and children were playing in the park directly outside, while white light came through the windows. It felt quite heavenly. Afterwards, one of the parishioners led the rosary. There was no homily.
I especially liked the simple coloured windows. Behind the altar, there was a white and red coloured window, which puts me in mind of the Divine Mercy. I got a picture of it, but it's blurry. (I feel self-conscious taking pictures when there's people nearby, or looking at me. It was just after the rosary.)
Is this St. Monica? She was in a niche with St. Francis Xavier and St. Patrick.
There was recorded music playing in the church when I entered. I've mentioned before that I like this. There is a piano in the church, and one of the parishioners was sitting at it as I left, but it wasn't played during the Mass itself.
I particularly liked the plaques to the old parish priests and the members of the Edenmore Ladies' Club.
I found St. Monica's church in Edenmore completely charming. My kind of church!
I like the pure way that the altar, lecterns, tabernacle, crucifix, presidential chair match up.
ReplyDeleteSt Monica is certainly unusual- a young, rather than matriarchal figure.
I hadn't even noticed that. Good point! In a more general sense, though, I do like these new-ish churches, partly for that reason: that they have more aesthetic unity than churches that have been built up over centuries.
DeleteI presume it's St. Monica. My first thought was that it was St. Bridget.
Thank you, Mal. I will abstain from commenting on our completely different takes on churches, but I read this with interest and most especially what you said of Dublin, north and south sides ...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it interested on you! It's hard to convey such a personal impression (on the Northside vs. Southside), which may be unique to me.
DeleteI've been thoroughly enjoying catching up with this series. I love this sort of post — a city seen through a city-dweller's eyes.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, too, reading from across the Irish Sea. In Britain there's a huge variety of styles in Catholic churches, but none of them seem to me to be like any of these. In other words, all these Dublin churches, old-fashioned or modern, seem distinctively Irish to me.
Partly it's size — most Catholic churches (in England, certainly) seem much smaller — but there's also something else. Perhaps their Celticness, if you accept that term! I'm not even sure quite what I mean. But there is a difference — and this in spite of the considerable influence of Irish Catholics on Catholic churches in England.
I wonder if it could be a combination of Celticness with a certain Continentalness. I hope that doesn't translate into an anti-Englishness but I suppose that needn't be the case. I don't dislike it!
DeleteVery interesting! I've only been in one English Catholic church, which was Westminster Cathedral-- I'm sure that's rather atypical.
DeleteI'm intrigued at the idea of Celticness, although I'm not sure wherein it lies...
Perhaps the "flavour" of churches here might be affected by the fact that many of them were built in the sixties and seventies, many of the suburban churches I'm featuring, anyway...
Yes, there's a definite sixties and seventies flavour to those Dublin churches, but they still feel more spacious than English ones. Catholic churches over here are more likely to be 1860s and -70s!
DeleteThe spaciousness has become a problem. Not only do I imagine it costs a lot more to heat and light, but it creates a rather mournful atmosphere when the congregation is dwarfed by the size of the church.
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