Northside Martyr

I am familiar with the statue of Margaret Ball outside the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. I knew she was Blessed, which is almost half way to being a saint.

But it was only today, passing a spot I have passed many times, that I noticed she had a church dedicated to her. And that is not too far from where she lived (Santry versus Ballygall).

Dublin is ever full of surprises even for an aging Dub.

And those Ballygallers sure are a mixed bunch: Marian Finucane, Paddy Cosgrave, Colm Meaney and Senan Moloney, to name but a few.

Post Prandial

A recent photo of John Byrne's "Last Supper"
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Just the other day I happened to pass through Dublin's Italian quarter. I hadn't been there for a good while, and I thought I'd have another look at John Byrne's "Last Supper" mural which I had last seen on the ground in 2008.

I fully expected it to be obliterated by graffiti and was amazed to see it looking as good as new. So I investigated closer up. It is actually protected by a number of thick glass plates and I'm assuming that such graffiti as might have appeared were easily washed away.

There remained some subtle signs of interference, however. Starting with Jesus.

It appeared that someone had recently been trying to put words in his mouth. Or were the remaining bits of paper just from an ad for a cheap latte across the road?

More seriously, he had been shot in the upper arm. The glass looked really resilient, like that at the British Embassy in 1972, but it had been almost penetrated. As far as Jesus was concerned, the bullet would have passed through leaving just a flesh wound.

The apostle John, here modeled by a woman, was not so lucky. A straight shot to the heart.

And a final coup de grace, Judas, the banker, shot in the head.

And for any doubting Thomas out there, these were no mere scratches.

I put my finger in the holes.

Saint John

Gogarty according to Gordon Brewster
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Oliver St. John Gogarty was certainly a major figure on the Irish literary scene, and he is reputed to have saved some people from drowning in addition to whatever other benefits he may have conferred on the population at large through his medical ministerings.

But he was hardly a saint, though he did indirectly claim to be Jesus at one stage.

None of that stopped the pub, which carries his name in Dublin's Temple Bar, advertising themselves on Newstalk radio as the Oliver SAINT John Gogarty pub. It used to drive me mad and I actually went in to the pub (below) one day and complained. The ad has been gone a good while and I don't really claim any credit for its demise. I'm sure there were many literary heavyweights weighing in on that one. Assuming, of course that such people actually listen to Newstalk.

And come to think of it, with the recent surge in canonisations in Rome, there is no reason why Gogarty should not be included in the list. We have no reason to believe he is not in heaven making a holy nuisance of himself and he would certainly outshine some of the more recently canonised in that place.

A recent view of The Pub