Speaker for Tuesday 19th March 2013 - Dean Victor Griffin
21/03/13 18:47
Photo: President Graham Kane greets Dean Griffin, with club members (L to R) Reggie Patterson, Joe Alcorn and Tony Smyth
Talk by Dean Griffin about ‘Dean Swift’, who is better known by his full name, Johnathon Swift
Club President Graham Kane welcomed members and guests. He then introduced our speaker for the morning, Dean Griffin, who was making a very welcome return to our club. On this visit we were treated to a fascinating insight into the life and times of Jonathon Swift, or 'Dean Swift' to give his formal title.
At the start of his talk, the Dean told how he first came across Jonathon Swift (JS). It turns out that they both went to the same school (in Kilkenny), although around 250 years separated their attendance. Many years later the Dean, then serving in Derry, was elected as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin (incidentally, it is the largest Church in all of Ireland). As many people know, JS was also Dean of St. Patrick's, so in a way, the two were united once more.
Dean Griffin soon discovered some surprising facts. One, that the Cathedral serves as a vast treasure house of Irish history, and two, the position of 'Dean' (in terms of the actual building) has the final say in all maters to do with the building, even the Bishop is under him in this. The authority gave BOTH the Deans a great independence that marked JS conduct and writing, as it did for Dean Griffin. The authority also enabled the Dean to amass a great knowledge of historical events and the life and times of Dean Swift.
From there, we were treated to a selection of fascinating anecdotes and insights into JS and how he served as Dean. First we heard about William of Orange second-in-command, the Duke of Schomberg, whom was killed at the battle of the Boyne and is buried in St. Patrick's. The Duke's commemorative tomb was paid for by Swift and has a rather 'odd' Latin plague, which caused a great offence to the Schomberg family (who didn't want to pay for the tomb). This lead to legal proceedings which didn't get resolved for over 200 years, and then only thanks to Dean Griffin.
We also (as a small sideline) heard about the restoration and re-establishment of the Irish Language, pioneered by the first president after independence of Ireland. This was Douglas Hide, who founded 'The Irish League', and was not a militant Sinn Fein activist, but the son of a C of I minister and is also buried in St. Patrick's.
In 1745, Dean Swift met Handel and let him rehearse his 'Messiah' oratorio in the Cathedral and the very first public performance of this was sung by the Cathedral choir - something very controversial for that time.
Another side of Swift was his concern for people suffering from mental illness and following a visit to 'Bedlam' in London, he commissioned a special hospital in Dublin to care humanely for the patients.
The stories and facts from Dean Griffin were to numerous to note here, and such was the interest in his tales, there were no time for questions. The vote of thanks was proposed by Dermot Jennings who echoed all our thoughts when he said that it had been a truly wonderful talk. The thanks were duly passed on by the President.
Talk by Dean Griffin about ‘Dean Swift’, who is better known by his full name, Johnathon Swift
Club President Graham Kane welcomed members and guests. He then introduced our speaker for the morning, Dean Griffin, who was making a very welcome return to our club. On this visit we were treated to a fascinating insight into the life and times of Jonathon Swift, or 'Dean Swift' to give his formal title.
At the start of his talk, the Dean told how he first came across Jonathon Swift (JS). It turns out that they both went to the same school (in Kilkenny), although around 250 years separated their attendance. Many years later the Dean, then serving in Derry, was elected as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin (incidentally, it is the largest Church in all of Ireland). As many people know, JS was also Dean of St. Patrick's, so in a way, the two were united once more.
Dean Griffin soon discovered some surprising facts. One, that the Cathedral serves as a vast treasure house of Irish history, and two, the position of 'Dean' (in terms of the actual building) has the final say in all maters to do with the building, even the Bishop is under him in this. The authority gave BOTH the Deans a great independence that marked JS conduct and writing, as it did for Dean Griffin. The authority also enabled the Dean to amass a great knowledge of historical events and the life and times of Dean Swift.
From there, we were treated to a selection of fascinating anecdotes and insights into JS and how he served as Dean. First we heard about William of Orange second-in-command, the Duke of Schomberg, whom was killed at the battle of the Boyne and is buried in St. Patrick's. The Duke's commemorative tomb was paid for by Swift and has a rather 'odd' Latin plague, which caused a great offence to the Schomberg family (who didn't want to pay for the tomb). This lead to legal proceedings which didn't get resolved for over 200 years, and then only thanks to Dean Griffin.
We also (as a small sideline) heard about the restoration and re-establishment of the Irish Language, pioneered by the first president after independence of Ireland. This was Douglas Hide, who founded 'The Irish League', and was not a militant Sinn Fein activist, but the son of a C of I minister and is also buried in St. Patrick's.
In 1745, Dean Swift met Handel and let him rehearse his 'Messiah' oratorio in the Cathedral and the very first public performance of this was sung by the Cathedral choir - something very controversial for that time.
Another side of Swift was his concern for people suffering from mental illness and following a visit to 'Bedlam' in London, he commissioned a special hospital in Dublin to care humanely for the patients.
The stories and facts from Dean Griffin were to numerous to note here, and such was the interest in his tales, there were no time for questions. The vote of thanks was proposed by Dermot Jennings who echoed all our thoughts when he said that it had been a truly wonderful talk. The thanks were duly passed on by the President.
(Secretary, Mike Turner)
