17 May 2015

A wayside cross and a promise of
summer after a walk on the beach

The green and golden fields of Duleek this afternoon … holding out a promise of summer (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Patrick Comerford

These past few weeks have been exceptionally busy.

Reflecting on the week before last, I realised I slept in four different beds over seven days: in Grey’s Guest House in Dugort on Achill Island, Co Mayo; at home; in the Charlemont Arms Hotel during the General Synod in Armagh; back at home again; and then in Barberstown Castle, Co Kildare, after taking part in a wedding in Culmullen, Co Meath.

This was followed by a busy working week that ran into a full working weekend that included lectures on the Church History module and a field trip with students yesterday [16 May 2015] to the National Museum of Ireland in Kildare Street, Dublin, and the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle.

By this afternoon I was feeling tired and a little exhausted and needed some fresh air between those brain cells, either by the sea or out in the countryside – and I managed to do both.

The vast expanse of rippled sand on the beach at Bettystown this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

After a light lunch in the Village Café in Templeogue, two of us headed north to Bettystown on the east coast of Co Meath.

Although the skies were grey, the tide was out and the long stretch of beach between Laytown and Mornington seemed to extend for a greater expanse than usual, and there curious trailing pools and rivulets of water were forming shapes between the ripples in the sand.

There were few people on the beach, and apart from one or two cars driving on the beach, I almost imagined I had Bettystown all to myself.

A speed sign seems to disappear into the sand at Bettystown (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Two friends who live outside Navan had invited us to their house, and we headed back through Laytown and Julianstown before heading west towards Duleek.

The rain showers were intermittent, and at this time of the year the translucent effect of the rain brings out the colours on the fields and hills and in the rivers.

Before reaching Duleek, a hill of bright yellow rapeseed rose up before us, and we stopped for a few moments between the showers of rain to enjoy the sight.

A field of yellow rapeseed in the green countryside near Duleek, Co Meath, this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

After passing through Duleek, I noticed for the first time the Athcarne Cross on a raised bank at the corner of a small junction, about three miles south-west of Duleek.

This cross is national monument and was erected ca 1675 as a memorial to Sir Luke Bathe and his wife, Dame Cecilia Dowdall, who lived nearby at Athcarne Castle.

The Athcarne Cross embodies both Renaissance and Baroque influences, with the Crucifixion depicted on the west face and the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child on the East and West face. A coat of arms representing the Bathe and Dowdall families has also been carved out next to the implements of Christ’s Passion.

The cross, which was repaired in 1810, is one of a series of crosses erected by Cecilia Dowdall in memory of her husband, and there is another notable example in Duleek.

The Athcarne Cross south-west of Dulkeek was erected in the 17th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

In the distance, we caught a glimpse of Athcarne Castle, now in ruins on the banks of the River Nanny. This is an Elizabethan castle, and the original tower and house were built by William Bathe in 1590. When the house was rebuilt in 1830, the original tower was kept and an impressive turret was added.

James Gernon, the last resident, lived in the castle until the 1950s. I understand the original stone staircase at the north-west corner, survives with all 77 steps leading to the top of the ruins.

Nearby at Beaumont, the ruins of a large corn and flour mill stand on the side of the road.

Until at least the late 1830s, Duleek stood on the mail coach road from Dublin to Belfast. But today, these country roads are quiet and sleepy, apart from local traffic.

I was away from the bustle and busy-ness of life in Dublin, and the rain brought out the green and golden colours of the landscape that hold out the promise of summer.

A note on this morning’s
service and hymns

The dome inside the Daniel Pantanassa Church with frescoes of the Ascension (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Patrick Comerford

I am presiding at the Community Eucharist later this morning, marking the end of the residential weekend for the part-time students, and marking the end of the academic year for them.

My colleague, Dr Katie Heffelfinger, is preaching.

Two of these illustrations, and these notes on this morning’s liturgy and hymns appear on the service sheet being handed out this morning:

This morning’s service and hymns:

This is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. We are still in the Easter season, but in that in-between time, between the Ascension (last Thursday) and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Church on the Day of Pentecost (next Sunday) Our hymns at this morning’s Eucharist reflect the yearnings and the hopes of that in-between time, expressed in this morning’s readings.

Processional Hymn: The hymn ‘For all thy saints’ (461)’ was written by the Irish church historian Richard Mant (1776-1848), Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore. In this hymn, he paints an intense image of the Church being inspired by Holy Spirit and is a call to discipleship.

Gloria: ‘Glory in the highest to the God of heaven!’ (693) was written by the Revd Christopher Idle in 1976 for this earlier tune, Cuddesdon, written in 1919 by Canon William H Ferguson, who had been an ordinand at Cuddesdon Theological College, near Oxford.

Gradual: ‘O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray’ (438), was written by William Henry Turton (1856-1938) as a hymn praying for Church unity and is based on words in the Farewell Discourse, and so has resonances with our Gospel reading. The tune is by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), who was the Organist of the Chapel Royal and at Westminster Abbey, and one of the greatest English composers of his day.

Offertory: ‘Come down O love divine’ (294) was originally written in Italian in the 14th century by Bianco da Siena. It was first translated into English in 1867 by the Revd Dr Richard Frederick Littledale (1833-1890), a Dublin-born Anglican priest. The tune Down Ampney by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) is named after the Cotswold village in Gloucestershire where he was born and where his father, the Revd Arthur Vaughan Williams, was the vicar.

Communion Hymn: As we receive Holy Communion, we sing ‘Jesus, remember me’ (617), by Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) and the Taizé Community.

Post-Communion Hymn: ‘How shall I sing that majesty’ (468, but including verse 3 in the New English Hymnal, 373), by John Mason. This hymn, written in the late 17th century, contrasts God’s heavenly glory, splendour and majesty with the inadequacies and frailties of humanity. We are using all four verses of this hymn, and not just the three in the Irish Church Hymnal. Kenneth Naylor wrote the tune ‘Coe Fen’ when he was the Music Master (1953-1980) at the Leys School, Cambridge, which is close to Coe Fen. It has since been described as “one of the outstanding hymn tunes of the 20th century.”

Patrick Comerford, 17 May 2015

Salvador Dali: The Ascension (1958)

The Collect of the Day

O God the King of Glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
Mercifully give us faith to know
that, as he promised,
he abides with us on earth to the end of time;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Post-Communion Prayer:

Eternal Giver of love and power,
your Son Jesus Christ has sent us into all the world
to preach the gospel of his kingdom.
Confirm us in this mission,
and help us to live the good news we proclaim;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Blessing:

Christ our exalted King
pour on his abundant gifts
make you faithful and strong to do his will
that you may reign with him in glory:
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

How shall I sing that majesty ... cattle grazing on Coe Fen in the late summer sunshine (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)