Shrunken Head in a Gold Jewel Display Case: Drogheda

Saint Oliver Plunkett's dark little burned-up head is lovingly displayed in a glass case in a church in Ireland. St. Peter's Church and Shrine is prominent in the center of Drogheda, about 45 minutes north of Dublin. (Say "drow GEH deh"). Thanks to the concierge at the Westin in Dublin who offered suggestions on interesting sights north of Dublin, we took a slight detour to visit this curious shrine. The unfortunate Mr. Plunkett was hanged and burned, but some friends rescued his head and preserved it as a relic. 

Mr. Plunkett had been appointed an Archbishop in 1669 and was forced into hiding when "the political situation changed" (according to the brochure distributed at St. Peter's Church).  The story, according to the brochure: "In 1679 Archbishop Plunkett was arrested on a trumped up charge of treason. False witnesses testified against him but even a Protestant jury in Ireland would not convict him. He was transferred to London and tried there for treason. In a scandalous travesty of justice, he was convicted and sentenced to death. On 1st July 1681 Archbishop Plunkett was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. His head was rescued from the fire by some friends of his and is today venerated here in St. Peter's, Drogheda".   Oliver Plunkett was canonized in 1975.

Shrine of Saint Oliver Plunkett's Head in St. Peter's Church, Drogheda, Ireland

Saint Oliver Plunkett's Head (in an unfortunately glary glass case)

Pink in Green: Hot Italian Bikers Raced Through Ireland

Ireland hosted the start of the world's second largest bike race, the Giro d'Italia.  The race commenced from May 9-11, 2014, with a course tracing from Belfast through the Causeway Coastal Route and the Glens of Antrim. Little communities across Northern Ireland were particularly enthusiastic about welcoming the race's hot pink branding along the route. Much Pepto Bismol-colored paint was sprayed across the countryside.  Hot pink bicycles leaned against stone walls and were lashed to poles as decorations along the route. Benches in towns were painted pink, as were mailboxes and metal farm enclosures. I even saw a flock of sheep whose coats were shocking pink.  

Linen Hall Library: Trendspotter of "The Troubles"

Belfast's Linen Hall Library holds over 350,000 leaflets, posters and artifacts from the strife between Protestants and Catholics. A most informative and enthusiastic librarian is eager to show the collection and describe its history.  In the 1960s as protests and organizing began to heat up, the forward thinking librarian of this essential storehouse of Irish history told the staff to bring in every scrap of political material they encounter that relates to "The Troubles". The collection chronicles the civil rights movement from its very beginning. It is the only collection of its type in the world, because most archives gathered their material retrospectively whereas this storehouse amassed items as the movement and its arguments formed at the onset.  The library's collection is nonpartisan and willingly welcomes donations from both sides.  This was not without risks, as the librarian told us that Irish law prohibits paramilitary collections in a public library. However, the neutrality of the collection and its importance is honored by both sides. In fact, both Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams and the Northern Ireland Secretary of State both send annual Christmas cards to Linen Hall Library. On New Years 1994, the library was firebombed, although the collection was not harmed. The following week, Sinn Fein published a half page ad in the Irish Times saying that the "young volunteers" responsible did not realize the importance of the political collection. Contributions are still made regularly, including a police station unloading its entire archive of videotape footage, Sinn Fein city council member periodically delivering files, and from multiple donors who ask not to be identified. One collection of unknown contents is embargoed. 

2 (and a fraction) of the 350,000 items in the Troubles collection

Extremely Informative, Helpful and Enthusiastic Librarian Gerry Devaney, Linen Hall Library, Belfast

Linen Hall Library: Belfast Scooped the US Declaration of Independence

After the last name was penned onto the Declaration of Independence, the document was packed up and sent by ship to deliver the message to the King of England. But, the ship carrying the declaration ran into very rough seas in early August 1776 and had to stop in Derry, Ireland.  A sneaky person broke into the cargo package containing the document, copied down every word, and transmitted the information to the Belfast Newsletter, whose readership hungered for news from abroad.  The Belfast Newsletter published the full text of the Declaration of Independence in early August, 1776, meaning that the Irish people read the first printed version of the Declaration of Independence outside of the United States. Belfast's Linen Hall Library has the original printed version of the newspaper and it can be viewed upon request with advance notice. 

In checking out the story, here is what I found in Wikipedia on the subject of the publication of the Declaration of Independence:

"British officials in North America sent copies of the Declaration to Great Britain.^[109] It was published in British newspapers beginning in mid-August, it had reached Florence and Warsaw by mid-September, and a German translation appeared in Switzerland by October. The first copy of the Declaration sent to France got lost, and the second copy arrived only in November 1776.^[110]"

The Linen Hall Library is Belfast's oldest library. Located across the street from City Hall, its  curved wooden staircase, wooden stacks and brown leather-covered books evoke a feeling of being cozily wrapped in history. The collection includes every single day's issue of the Belfast Newsletter since 1737, the second year of its existence. Remarkably, the original issues are still intact, collected in bound volumes. The librarians don't believe in wearing white gloves for handling, saying that body oils on the hands are less damaging than the fabric-treating chemicals. 

An issue of The Belfast Newsletter

The Governors' Room in Belfast's Linen Hall Library

Newgrange- The World's Oldest Solar Observatory (that I never heard of)

Newgrange is an ancient gravesite one hour north of Dublin.  The complex of Newgrange was originally built about 3200BC, making it over 5,000 years old. According to the information at the visitor center, carbon-14 dates it at about five hundred years older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. It is a large flat mound covered with grass and surrounded by multiple-ton flat boulders shaped like almonds.

The huge stones are decorated with carved swirling patterns, some clockwise, some counterclockwise.

One theory of the significance is that the solstice divides the rising and lowering of the sun as the length of daytime changes direction.  Prehistoric people constructed this tomb so that an opening on the side is precisely positioned to allow light to enter during the winter solstice. The tomb is open to visitors only via guided tour.  Newgrange is in an area along the Bóinne River called Brú na Bóinne. Upon arriving at the Brú na Bóinne  Visitor Center, you can buy a ticket for a tour at an assigned time. The tour starts with a bus ride along the river bank and up to the tomb area.  While waiting your turn to enter the tomb, the guide points out that the multiton rocks are made of stone far from the region, probably having been floated on wooden barges down the river and moved up the hill by log rollers to the tomb site. 

Bru na Boinne River

Guides lead you through the narrow dark passageway into the center of the tomb, where the ceiling opens up to a height of 36 feet or so. The guide uses flashlights to simulate the sun's rays so that tourists can experience the crescendo of golden light as it goes from total darkness to a wash of warm yellow glow. About 25 people at a time can fit in the tomb enclosure, spending about 10 minutes inside, hearing an explanation of sophisticated engineering of the waterproof stone mound and the ancient peoples' advanced understanding of the sun. The National Trust that manages Newgrange sponsors a lottery for 50 people to win the right to be in the tomb at sunrise on the solstice. 30,000 people tried for a spot in 2012. Entry blanks are provided at the end of the tour.   

Entrance to the tomb; Guide holding umbrella, reminding a visitor to mind his head