Christ's Church Cathedral

Christ’s Church Cathedral was established by the vikings in 1030 A.D. and has continued to be a central church for the people in the area ever since. It was originally built in a Romanesque style, but when the ceiling collapsed in 1562 it was rebuild in a more Gothic style. This incident also smashed Strongbow’s tomb, which has since been replaced. The three walls of the choir’s section still remain from the original structure. Even the tiling in that area is original, and our tour guide told us of a duck that wandered onto the wet pavement and his centuries-old footprints remain.

Our tour guide gave us an exclusive trip up to the belfry, which Diana has not done before. We learned about the bells, including “Big Martha” which weighs about two and a quarter tons. After cheekily telling us that there are no rules limiting the ringing of the bells, we all took turns ringing the cathedral’s bells. The town of Dublin could hear our wonderful music from up to two kilometers away.

We were then taken down to the crypt, which is one of the oldest in both Ireland and the UK. There are two corpses in the crypt: those of a cat and a rat. They met their tragic demise during a chase and got caught in the pipes of the cathedral’s organ. Inside the tomb, there was also gold that was given as a gift from a wealthy king (probs). They also have one of the oldest copies of the Magna Carta, called the “Black Book”. It is one of the popular attractions for tourists and is located across from the giftshop. They also have costumes from the popular TV show, The Tudors, because they filmed in Christ’s Church.

Christ’s Church is still significant because it is still fully functions as a Church of Ireland with weekend services. It is the timekeeper for the city, ringing its bells every fifteen minutes and on the hour, and it is a popular tourist attraction which draws in thousands of visitors each year. Most importantly, it still stands as an everlasting symbol of how faith is central to Ireland’s population (literally).

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

Erin: Christ’s Church Cathedral was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. The architecture, both inside and out, is stunning. The stained glass windows and tiled floors were a couple of my favorite parts of the church. I really enjoyed the tour of the bell tower, and it was so exciting to have the opportunity to ring a cathedral bell. How many people can say that they have done that? Our tour guide was so witty and knowledgeable, and he really made our tour enjoyable.  

Grace: I loved visiting this site! I had two main highlights of the day: ringing the bells and seeing the costumes from “The Tudors”! I loved how cheeky and funny the tour guide was along the way, and I felt like I learned so much along the way. When we went to the belfry I was absolutely delighted that I was able to ring the bells, and they were so heavy that I was lifted off the ground every time I pulled the rope! How cool to think that we gave the city of Dublin a minor headache on a random Wednesday afternoon! I shouldn’t have been so excited about the costumes because there was an insanely old copy of the Magna Carta behind me, but I really loved that show! Admittedly, I was so excited that I cried. This site was just so old and full of history. I feel like I gained so much information in such a short time-- I am still processing all we learned.

Isaac: Christ’s Church Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at the cathedral, we waited in the main naive and admired the beautiful architecture. The intricacy and detail in the design was absolutely beautiful. As we were taken around the cathedral throughout the tour, I was excited to see the next room and see more of the structure. Learning about the history and past of the church was also quite interesting. After seeing the different parts of the cathedral on the ground floor, we went up to the bell tower, and was able to ring the bells of the cathedral. We then traveled down to the basement where we learned about small connections the cathedral has with modern politics, culture, and other events. The tour was a great experience!

Rae: After seeing many ruins of beautiful buildings in ruins whilst in Greece, seeing Christ’s Church Cathedral standing with such ornamentation was a great experience. It was really interesting to see the ribbed vaulting in the ceiling and the organs in the church. I found it entirely horrific that there were a mummified cat and rat in the old organ, but I suppose it’s interesting despite its gruesome nature. Going to the belfry was exciting because we got a good view of the city. Also, it was wonderful to ring the bells. I’m sure the people of Dublin were not as enthused as we were. The crypt was eerie, but it had a lot of interesting artifacts to look at. All in all, I would say it was a successful day in Dublin.