PICTURESQUE IRELAND

New Zealand Tablet, 15 July 1909, Page 1095

PICTURESQUE IRELAND

♦ LECTURE BY BISHOP GRIMES

A great deal of interest was created by the announcement made some time ago that his Lordship Bishop Grimes had consented to deliver a lecture entitled ' Picturesque Ireland.' That the lecture would prove an intellectual treat of a high order was what was naturally expected, considering his Lordship's descriptive powers, his first-hand knowledge of the country and the people, and the excellence of the pictures which he had secured for the occasion. The expectations of the very large audience that assembled on the evening' of July 1 in the- Opera House, Christchurch, were more than realised, as the lecture was one of the best ever delivered by his Lordship, and was in every way N an unqualified success/ We take the following report of the proceedings from the Press: It is not often that it is possible to get at first hand, as it were, a faithful impression of the beauty and picturesqueness of Ireland, and more particularly a vivid description of the stately religious edifices which the faith of her people has reared throughout the land. This, however, was what the audience last night' at the Opera House obtained, when his Lordship Bishop Grimes personally conducted a large and enthusiastic assemblage on a most interesting and instructive tour through the Green Isle. It was not a mere Cook's tourists' scramble through the country, inasmuch as the Bishop, in. the case of a large number of the places of historic interest to which he acted as cicerone, had many personal reminiscences to relate of his own connection with the spots. Added to this he had a rich store of legendary lore, which made the lecture intensely interesting, not only to many who knew the country, but to the newer generation, whose only knowledge was by hearsay from their parents.- This remark applies especially in the case of the beautiful cathedrals and •churches, representations of which formed a large portion of the pictures with which the tour was illustrated. In several of these edifices his Lordship had himself preached when on his visit to Ireland, and in some of them wellknown ecclesiastics in New Zealand were ordained or had held office. In his introductory remarks the Bishop referred to the beautiful scenery of the various countries of the Old World with, which he was familiar, and said that he could fearlessly assert that in no other part of- the world was the scenery so beautiful as in Ireland. Its people were warm-hearted and generous, and he had. spent there many happy years. It was there that he was ordained, and it was during his residence in the country that he had learned to love both it and its people. - Since then he had re-visited it several times, and always with delight. Commencing with Dublin, the capital, his Lordship most ably filled the part of guide"* to the many beautiful spots renowned for their scenery or hallowed by their historic associations. As has been said, the greater portion of the pictures dealt with the large number of cathedrals, strikingly beautiful from their architectural design, which are scattered so profusely throughout Ireland. Respecting these, the Bishop had a good deal to say that was intensely interesting. The history and principal features of nearly all of those buildings represented in the limelight' views were touched upon in a way that made this part of the tour full of information. Interspersed were anecdotes, illustrating the well-known genial humor of the Irish peasants, notably the car-drivers, which were told with keen appreciation. Perhaps the most notable feature of the evening consisted m the pictures of the ruins of the abbeys, monasteries, and churches, some of which dated back to the time when Malachi wore the crown of gold, and there were kings of Ireland. The fervor of the description given by the Bishop of the ancient glories of Erin awoke the patriotism of the audience in » marked degree. These pictures, comprising as they did representations of the remains of the most ancient ecclesiastical edifices of Ireland, were amongst the most interesting of the many shown during the ovening. The worldrenowned scenery of the Lakes of Killarney, .the immortalised by Moore in his < Meeting of the Shandon Bells, made equally famous by Father Prout as ' The bells of Shandon that sound so grand .on the pleasant waters of the River Lee,' and the Titanic beauty of the Giant's Causeway, were all described with great facility and power. During the evening ' The Meeting of the Waters ' .was given by twelve girls, wearing green sashes, whose singing and training were very creditable to the Sisters of the Missions. Vocal items were also contributed by Messrs. O'Keefe and Fottrell. A meed of praise is due to the energetic secretary, Mr. James Power , Tho lantern was effectively manipulated by Mr. E. W. Seager. At the close a hearty vote of thanks was accorded hia Lordship.