Irish Times Notes31 Oct 25

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

St Laurence O’Toole Lectures

To mark the 800th anniversary of the canonization of St Laurence O’Toole (Lorcán Ua Tuathail) in 1225, Dublin’s Christ Church cathedral will host a series of free lunchtime lectures on the Tuesdays in November at 1.10pm entitled ‘St Laurence O’Toole and the medieval Gaelic world’ which will examine the early years of St Laurence’s life. All four lectures will be delivered by Dr Jesse Harrington of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, an expert on the saint who is working towards two new publications on St Laurence, the patron saint of Dublin who, until relatively recently, despite being one of the most fully documented Irishmen of his century, has been rather overlooked in the scholarly world.

The first lecture, next Tuesday, will introduce the world of St Laurence in the twelfth–century setting him in the context of Ireland and Europe in the medieval period.

The lectures take place in the chapter house building upstairs in the Music or Henry Roe Room, which is at present only accessible by stairs.

For further information on this series, email the cathedral research advisor, Dr Stuart Kinsella, at [email protected].

In St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, every Tuesday evening in November, from 6pm, you can discover the cathedral as you have never seen it before. As twilight falls, the ancient bells toll, resonating through the city’s soul. Step inside the majestic cathedral, where shadows dance in the dim candlelight, and history whispers through every stone. Experience the spine–tingling thrill of exploring this architectural marvel in complete darkness, with only the echo of your footsteps and the distant chiming of bells. 

This evening (Friday) at 7.30pm St Patrick’s cathedral will have its annual After Dark concert in aid of BUMBLEance, Ireland’s Children’s Ambulance Service. This year, there is a fantastic line up of spooky music, including Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Saint Säens’ Danse Macabre. See www.stpatrickscathedral.ie for booking information.

Tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 8pm Christ Church cathedral will be the venue for a performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Irish Baroque Orchestra. Details at www.christchurchcathedral.ie

On Sunday on  RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 Extra at 11am there will be an Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance for Organ Donors and Recipients, led by the Irish Kidney Association.

In St Mary’s cathedral, Limerick, there will be a lunchtime recital on Tuesday at 1.15pm which will take the form of a piano duets with Marianne and Maureen.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of St Maty’s church, Bunclody, a new history, by Oliver Deacon, will be launched on Friday following Choral Evensong at 6.30pm. The book will be launched by Professor Kevin Whelan, University of Notre Dame.

As the Season of Remembrance approaches, a selection of events and diary notes can be found in the upcoming events section of the Church of Ireland website: www.churchofireland.org/news/upcoming-events Further details will be available across Church of Ireland websites and publications closer to the time of Remembrance Sunday, which is taking place this year on Sunday, 9 November, and Armistice Day on Tuesday, 11 November.