TheHarpNews.com

February Edition 2007

Saint Valentine for the Irish

By Cillian O'Brien

Saint Valentine

Valentine’s Day is here again and even the least amorous among us are forced, for a day at least, to think of romance. As greeting card companies and florists stand to make a fortune again,
we stop to think about what
makes the Irish such a uniquely romantic race.
From as far back as pre-history the Irish of myth and legend were a romantic breed. There are epic tales of the famous warrior Cú Chúlaain and his great feats to woo his wife-to-be, Emer, or the story of Óisin and Niamh in the kingdom of Tír na nÓg and let us not forget Brian Ború, greatest of all the high kings of Ireland who defeated the Vikings at the battle of Clontarf in 1014, who charmed Gormlaith the beautiful daughter of the Viking king of Dublin.
Poets, writers and musicians throughout the centuries have preserved Ireland’s rich romantic heritage and tradition. Right up to present day, notably by figures such as Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.
Even more specific to 14 February is the fact that the famous Saint Valentine himself lies in rest in Dublin. It is a little known fact that St.Valentine’s relics have been in Dublin for nearly two centuries.
In 1835 an Irish Carmelite priest by the name of John Spratt visited Rome. He was renowned in Ireland for his talent as a preacher and
for his charitable work among the poor of Dublin’s Liberties area; he was also responsible for the building of the new church to
Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Whitefriar Street.
The elite of Rome flocked to hear him preach. He received much praise from church figures at the time and one such token of appreciation was the remains of Saint Valentine, given to him by Pope Gregory XVI.
On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Ireland and were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street Church where Archbishop Murray of Dublin received them. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they went into storage.
During a major reordering of the church in the 1950s/60s they were returned to prominence with an altar and shrine being constructed to house them. The statue was carved by Irene Broe and depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hand.
Today, the Shrine is visited throughout the year by couples
that come to pray to Valentine and to ask him to watch over them
in their lives together. On the feast day of the saint many couples attend mass where special prayers are said and a blessing of the
rings takes place for those preparing for marriage.
Celebrities and thousands of others continue to flock to Ireland in their droves, attracted by our ancient castles and breathtaking scenery, to host weddings and honeymoons.
In the Ireland of the twenty-first century, as the love letter is
being replaced by the email and online dating is taking the place of the dance hall we can rest
assured that romance is alive and well. Think of where you come
from this Valentines Day for
some inspiration.

Limerick prison crisis
A recent report by the Inspector of Prisons has discovered that Limerick’s Wheatfield detention centre has numerous problems.
The prison was described as ‘well run’ but was suffering from safety issues due to staff shortages and it is reported that the availability of recreational drugs within the prison are another concerning issue to be dealt with.

Honeydew II lost
at sea
A fishing trawler and four of its crew members sank off the coast of Waterford on in the early hours of the 11th of January. Honeydew II originally from Kinsale, Co Cork hit extreme bad weather off the southern coast and sank. Some crewmembers survived and were rescued by local services.
The fishing community of both Kinsale and Waterford have been badly affected by this tragedy. The vessel was not the only working boat to encounter difficulties during the bad spell of weather that swept through Ireland.