THE CHURCH AND THE GRAVE

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I ASKED GOOGLE’S BARD AI TO GENERATE AN ACCOUNT OF GOLDENBRIDGE CEMETERY

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IT IS CLOSE TO BEING TOTALLY INACCURATE

Watch out for the squirrels … they are grey not red.

I asked Google’s Bard AI to generate an account of Goldenbridge Cemetery and here it is with many false claims … see if you can spot them

Nestled amidst the bustling city of Dublin, Ireland, lies Goldenbridge Cemetery, a tranquil oasis of remembrance and history. Its cobblestone paths wind through a verdant expanse, lined with ornate tombstones and weathered headstones that whisper tales of lives lived and stories untold.

The cemetery’s origins can be traced back to the early 19th century, when the Catholic Association, led by the charismatic Daniel O’Connell, sought to provide dignified burial space for all faiths and none. In 1828, they acquired three acres of land near the Grand Canal, a site that would become the first Catholic cemetery in Ireland since the Reformation.

Over the years, Goldenbridge has become a treasure trove of Dublin’s rich history. Its grounds have witnessed the passing of countless souls, from prominent figures who shaped the city’s destiny to ordinary citizens who played their part in the tapestry of life.

Among the cemetery’s notable residents is Thomas Francis Meagher, a revolutionary leader who played a key role in the Irish Rebellion of 1848. His imposing monument, adorned with symbols of freedom and justice, stands as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made for Ireland’s independence.

Another prominent figure interred in Goldenbridge is Michael Cusack, the founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Cusack’s commitment to preserving and promoting Irish culture is deeply entwined with the history of the cemetery, as the GAA’s annual graveside commemorations have become a cherished tradition.

Amidst the grand monuments and historical significance, Goldenbridge also holds a quiet intimacy, a place where families gather to remember loved ones and find solace in shared memories. The gentle rustling of leaves, the soft chirping of birds, and the distant murmur of the canal create an atmosphere of tranquility, encouraging reflection and introspection.

As the sun casts its golden rays upon the cemetery’s verdant expanse, the spirits of those who rest beneath its soil seem to stir. Their stories, whispered through the rustling leaves and carried on the gentle breeze, weave a tapestry of lives that continue to touch and inspire the living.

Goldenbridge Cemetery is more than just a burial ground; it is a living testament to the enduring spirit of Dublin, a place where history, tradition, and personal connections intertwine to create a poignant symphony of remembrance. Its hallowed grounds serve as a reminder that even in the face of death, life finds a way to flourish, echoing through the ages and forever etched in the tapestry of the city’s soul.

[NOTE] No cobblestones in the cemetery []
[NOTE] Thomas Francis Meagher is not buried in Ireland. Despite his prominent role in the Irish Rebellion of 1848, his body was never recovered after his drowning in the Sacramento River in 1867. []
[NOTE] Michael Cusack is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, Ireland. []

ONE CAN SEE SOME SECTIONS OF ST PATRICK’S CHURCH WHICH IS ON LOWER GLANMIRE ROAD

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FROM SUMMERHILL NORTH

St. Patrick’s Church in Cork was designed by architect George Richard Pain and construction began in 1832. The first Mass was celebrated in 1836, and the church was finally completed in 1895. Pain was a prominent Irish architect of the 19th century, and he is also known for designing Dromoland Castle and Strancally Castle.

The church is a fine example of Georgian Revival architecture, with a neoclassical style. It is constructed of ashlar limestone, and its façade features a pedimented Corinthian hexastyle portico on a high base, surmounted by a cruciform tempietto upholding a rotunda encircled by figures. The interior of the church is spacious and ornate, with a vaulted ceiling and stained-glass windows.

  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225789-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225789-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225787-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225787-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225788-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225788-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225785-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225785-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225786-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225786-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225784-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225784-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225783-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225783-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225779-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225779-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225780-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225780-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225781-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225781-1
  • WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225782-1
    WHAT SUMMERHILL NORTH IS LIKE ON A REALLY WET DAY [YOU CAN SEE SOME OF ST PATRICKS'S CHURCH]-225782-1

RELIGIOUS STATUES IN THE DOCKLANDS REF-225668-1

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ST LAURENCE O’TOOLE’S CHURCH

This church was begun in 1844 by John B. Keane and completed in 1858 by John Bourke, occupying a triangular site at the intersection of Seville Place and Spencer Dock, donated to the church in the mid nineteenth-century. The church was constructed to serve the growing community in the area who were housed in large numbers of brown brick houses and cottages built for the population of dockworkers and their families. The design skillfully exploits the limited site with the four-stage steeple providing an important vertical emphasis. The interior was stripped of much of its decoration in 1975 and is enlivened only by the retained stained glass windows of 1958 by Casey Bros. The spire of the church was said to have been the last landmark visible to emigrants leaving Ireland from the North Wall in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and remains a local landmark and a social focal point of the local community.

  • RELIGIOUS STATUES IN THE DOCKLANDS [ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE'S CHURCH]-225668-1
    RELIGIOUS STATUES IN THE DOCKLANDS [ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE'S CHURCH]-225668-1
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    RELIGIOUS STATUES IN THE DOCKLANDS [ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE'S CHURCH]-225669-1
  • RELIGIOUS STATUES IN THE DOCKLANDS [ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE'S CHURCH]-225670-1
    RELIGIOUS STATUES IN THE DOCKLANDS [ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE'S CHURCH]-225670-1

PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE

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ST MARY MAGDALEN’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DROGHEDA

SAME CHURCH OCTOBER 2023

The first thing that anyone will notice on arrival in Drogheda is the number of churches but like other towns and villages in Ireland religious observance is in rapid decline.

Louth County Council had purchased the 18th century St. Mary Magdalen’s church from the Dominican order in 2020 when they decided to leave Drogheda after almost 800 years. Apparently the Order of Preachers had decided back in 2014 to withdraw from the following locations – St Magdalen’s, Drogheda; Leeson Park in Dublin; St Dominic’s, Athy; St Saviour’s, Limerick; and St Saviour’s, Ballybeg, Waterford. Until today [16 October 2023], the only closure that I was aware of was the church in Limerick.

As a matter of interest I used a Sony NEX-5. “The Sony α NEX-5 is a digital camera launched on 11 May 2010. It is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with the body size of a larger model fairly compact point-and-shoot camera with a larger sensor size (APS-C) comparable to that of some digital single-lens reflex cameras. Its major competitors in the market are the cameras based on the micro 4/3 standard created by Panasonic and Olympus, and a few low end Canon, Nikon, and even Sony α DSLRs. The NEX-5 shoots 14.2 megapixel stills and has a 7 frame/s continuous shotmode.It has the capability to shoot 1920×1080i at 60 frame/s in AVCHD or 1440×1080p at 30 frame/s in MPEG4. The NEX-5 was replaced by the 16 megapixel NEX-5N in August 2011.”

  • ST MARY MAGDALEN'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DROGHEDA [PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE] 002
    ST MARY MAGDALEN'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DROGHEDA [PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE] 002
  • ST MARY MAGDALEN'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DROGHEDA [PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE] 001
    ST MARY MAGDALEN'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DROGHEDA [PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE] 001

FR MEADTHE MEMORIAL CROSS AT THE DOMINICAN CHURCH IN DROGHEDA

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PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE THE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE

MY OCTOBER 2023 VISIT TO DROGHEDA

The solemn opening of St. Magdelene’s Dominican Church took place on the 15th September 1878 about eight years after the commencing of the building

The dedication was performed by Primate Archbishop McGettigan accompanied by D. Leahy OP. Bishop of Dromore. There was Solemn High Mass at which the Primate presided attended by Dr Leahy.

Drogheda-born Fr Meadthe who was instrumental in having the church built was also present. According to the inscription on the high cross he died the following year at the age of 59.

The surname of the priest is unusual but the spelling appears to be correct.

  • FR MEADTHE MEMORIAL CROSS AT THE DOMINICAN CHURCH IN DROGHEDA [PHOTOGRAPHED 18 APRIL 2011 BEFORE THE CHURCH BECAME INACTIVE]
    MEMORIAL CROSS
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