17 July 2022

‘Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air’ … in
Dublin and in Milton Keynes

Grafton Street in Milton Keynes is 4,186 metres long (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air,
There’s diamonds in the lady’s eyes,
And gold-dust in her hair.
And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.


‘The Dublin Saunter,’ also known as ‘Dublin can be heaven,’ was written by Leo Maguire (1903-1985). It was originally recorded by Noel Purcell in the 1940s and later by Paddy Reilly and Maureen Potter.

Leo Maguire wrote over 100 songs, his most famous being ‘The Whistling Gypsy.’ Maguire worked for the national broadcaster RTÉ, presenting a weekly sponsored radio programme, ‘The Walton’s Show’ where he played ballads for 30 years.

Paddy Reilly, who made the song his own, became an overnight hit in 1982 when he recorded Pete St John’s song ‘The Fields Of Athenry.’

Grafton Street in Dublin is named after Charles FitzRoy (1683-1757), 2nd Duke of Grafton, who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1720-1724. The title of Duke of Grafton was first given in 1675 by Charles II of England to Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. But the family seat is not in Grafton Regis – it is at Euston Hall in Suffolk, an 11,000-acre estate straddling the Norfolk-Suffolk border.

The most famous Duke of Grafton was probably his grandson, Augustus Henry FitzRoy (1735-1811), 3rd Duke of Grafton, who served as Prime Minister in 1768-1780. When he became Prime Minister in 1768 at the age of 33, he was the youngest person to hold that office until William Pitt the Younger 15 years later.

The Grafton in the titles of the Dukes of Grafton comes from the village of Grafton Regis in Northamptonshire, with a population of about 253 (2011) census. The village is about 13 km (8 miles) south of Northampton and 14 km (9 miles) north of Milton Keynes.

This explains the name of the V6 Grafton Street, a major road in Milton Keynes. It is 4,186 metres long, and its formal name is simply Grafton Street. The V6 designation is an urban planning name that indicates that it is the sixth north-south grid road in Milton Keynes.

This Grafton Street starts beside Wolverton railway station in the north of Milton Keynes, between Wolverton and New Bradwell, and extends as an unnumbered local rural road to Haversham and Castlethorpe.

Travelling south from here it passes the district and village of Bradwell before becoming a dual carriageway at the point that it crosses the A422. It remains a dual carriageway from here for about four miles until it meets the A421. During this time it crosses the A509 and passes through the Central Milton Keynes grid square where, for this short distance, it is named V6 Grafton Gate.

After crossing the A421, Grafton Street acts for one grid square as a spur of the A421, connecting it to the A5. After crossing the A5 at Redmoor Roundabout, Grafton Street once reverted to being a single carriageway, although it was widened in 2005. The V6 terminates at Granby in a three-direction roundabout with the H10 Bletcham Way and V4 Watling Street.

Due to its nature as a Milton Keynes grid road, Grafton Street has an unusual number of roundabouts along its short route, compared with other towns.

Grafton Street in Milton Keynes has an unusual number of roundabouts along its short route (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

I’ve been North and I’ve been South
I’ve been East and West
I’ve been just a rolling stone.
Yet there’s one place on this earth
I’ve always liked the best
Just a little town I call my own

For Dublin can be heaven
With coffee at eleven
And a stroll in Stephen’s Green.
There’s no need to hurry,
There’s no need to worry,
You’re a king and the lady’s a queen.

Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air,
There’s diamonds in the lady’s eyes,
And gold-dust in her hair.
And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

I’ve been here and I’ve been there,
I’ve sought the rainbow’s end,
But no crock of gold I’ve found.
Now I know that come what will,
Whatever fate may send,
Here my roots are deep in friendly ground

For Dublin can be heaven
With coffee at eleven
And a stroll in Stephen’s Green.
There’s no need to hurry,
There’s no need to worry,
You’re the king and the lady’s a queen.
Grafton Street’s a wonderland,
There’s magic in the air,
There’s diamonds in the lady’s eyes,
And gold-dust in her hair.
And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

And if you don’t believe me
Come and meet me there
In Dublin on a sunny Summer morning.

‘With coffee at eleven … Grafton Street’s a wonderland’ … Jim Fitzpatrick’s stained-glass window in Bewley’s of Grafton Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Praying with the Psalms in Ordinary Time:
17 July 2022 (Psalm 144)

‘May our … daughters [be] like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace’ (Psalm 144: 12) … the Caryatids on the Erechtheion on the Acropolis in Athens (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

In the Calendar of the Church, we are in Ordinary Time, and today is the Fifth Sunday after Trinity (17 July 2022). Before today begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 144:

Psalm 144 is the seventh psalm in the final Davidic collection of psalms (Psalm 138 to Psalm 145) that are specifically attributed to David in their opening verses.

In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this is Psalm 143. This psalm often serves as a prayer in times of distress. Its opening words in Latin are: Benedictus Dominus.

Psalm 144 is attributed to David in the Masoretic text. The Septuagint has the additional specification of Τῷ Δαυΐδ, πρὸς τὸν Γολιάδ, ‘David against Goliath,’ putting the text in the context of the narrative of David’s fight against Goliath (see I Samuel 17).

The Jerusalem Bible notes that this psalm is in two parts: it refers to verses 1-11 as a ‘war hymn’ and suggests that verses 12-15 portray ‘the fruits of victory,’ and also by extension ‘the prosperity of the messianic age.’

Psalm 144 speaks with confidence about facing the battles that may lie ahead, and the blessings – human and material – that come from hard work.

The former Chief Rabbi, the late Lord (Jonathan) Sacks describes this as a song that of a people who, trusting in God, face the future without fear.

Verse 12 says, ‘May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.’ The Jerusalem Bible suggests that the psalmist may have in mind a caryatid, a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support.

The German poet Matthias Claudius wrote a poem, Wir pflügen und wir streuen (1782) inspired by Psalm 144. It was translated into English in 1862 by Jane Montgomery Campbell, and since then ‘We Plough the Fields and Scatter’ has been a popular hymn associated with harvest celebrations.

‘May our barns be filled with produce of every kind’ (Psalm 144: 13) … a full barn on my grandmother’s former farm in Cappoquin, Co Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 144 (NRSVA):

Of David.

1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2 my rock and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples under me.

3 O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of aliens,
8 whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.

12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls, no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.

15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

Today’s Prayer:

The theme in the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) this week is ‘Turning Point.’ It is introduced this morning:

The Diocese of Kurunegala in the Church of Ceylon runs a capacity building programme with support from USPG. This programme is conducted under the guidance of the Right Revd Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunegala, and Archdeacon George Melder.

As part of the programme, Bishop Keerthisiri led a session on the fundamentals of capacity-building: Tell, teach, tend, treasure and transform. Other sessions focused on self-motivation for different groups within society, particularly focusing on how children motivate themselves and gain self-confidence.

One child taking part in the programme said, ‘Today is a turning point in my life because I have been able to recognise my abilities and talents. I also learnt how to see my weaknesses as positives. I want to say thank you for this awesome experience, helping us learn about the life skills and abilities that we need to be good adults.’

Another child added that, ‘As students we never see the seriousness and importance of life skills - we just do what we are told. This training programme taught us how important it is to set a plan to motivate ourselves as well as others. We need to be bold and strong. Moving forwards, I hope to be a good communicator, collaborator, critical thinker and creator.’

Sunday 17 July 2022:

The USPG Prayer Diary invites us to pray today in these words:

Inspiring God,
may we encourage all around us.
Help us to motivate others
and be role models in our communities.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org