Beyond UH Hilo: St. Patrick's Cathedrals & Dublin Adventures
By Taylor "Uʻi" Barongan
Last October, I was fortunate enough to travel to Ireland with my mom and boyfriend for a few days. On our first night, I checked into my hotel and wandered the streets of Dublin. The week prior, I had met someone from Ireland who recommended that I check out Temple Bar. Fortunately for me, my hotel was called the Temple Bar Hotel.
I assumed the bar would be inside. I was kind of right. Temple Bar is an entire area in Dublin lined with pubs that start to fill up around 6p.m..
Outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin As I wandered Temple Bar, there were murals everywhere, lights strung up from building to building, and cobblestone streets that appeared to be endless. One of the most striking buildings was the original Temple Bar itself. Dating back to the 1800s, Temple Bar became an iconic spot and set the stage for the entire street, giving the area its name. Of course, there is an absurdly huge line outside to get into the building; however, my boyfriend and I snuck in through a side entrance which required us to buy a bottle of their house whiskey - what a shame, I know. From there we proceeded to buy tons of overpriced drinks while listening to American covers of classics such as “Sweet Caroline”. The Irish really seemed to like classic rock.
While in Dublin, I also got to visit Dublin Castle, the Dublin National Gallery, and, of course, nearly every bar in the Temple Bar area. One of the most stunning places I got to visit, however, was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This cathedral is truly an awe-inspiring church that I believe every person should at the very least see a picture of. Upon entering, I was greeted by three massive stained-glass windows towering fifteen feet above me to the left. When I looked to the right, there were two long hallways with pews in the middle. Every part of the cathedral formed an arch - including the overall cathedral itself. At the end of the cathedral was a beautiful marble and iron spiral staircase leading up to the organist playing atmospheric medieval music. As I walked around, I marveled at various marble statues, the multitude of candles, the colorful windows, and the immaculate architecture.
The main hall of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Today, the St. Patrick’s Cathedral is open to the public for viewing as well as open for service on Sundays. As the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick himself is celebrated within the church for his missionary work and service as the bishop. When I first entered the church, I felt this air of pride and power wash over me. I was truly in awe as I marveled at the beautiful cathedral; however, as I learned more about the saint, the more unsettled I felt in the church. While St. Patrick is still celebrated today, I wasn’t aware of what he was most famous for. As the sign in the cathedral proudly stated, “St. Patrick is credited for converting the Picts, pagans, and Anglo-Saxons to Christianity on his mission to introduce the religion to parts of Ireland.” Today, nearly 80% of Ireland’s population is Roman Catholic. As someone who is familiar with the detailed history of conversion within a Native community, this stung.
In 2019, I visited a replica of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City - a decidedly more embarrassing experience.
Inside of St. Patrick's Cathedral, NYC NYC’s version of the cathedral was much brighter and had a magnificent warm glow that bathed the entire church in a holy light. There were locals praying and attending a sermon while the tourists crowded around the entrance of the church taking pictures and lighting candles. Instead of marble statues over crypts, I found marble altars with various candles for people to light to pray to their patron saint. I lit my candle at St. Brigid - another well known saint in Ireland. On the way out of the cathedral, there was a small station for guests to anoint themselves with holy water. Wanting to experience the finest holy water NYC had to offer, I turned the spicket to wet my hands. Water gushed out onto the floor. I cursed. Realizing I had cursed in a church with an ongoing sermon, I cursed again. Realizing that I had just cursed twice in a holy space, I quickly shut my mouth and the spicket while receiving a multitude of stares filled with what I can only assume was the wrath of God.
Outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral, NYC
If you ever find yourself in Ireland, the top three things I’d recommend visiting are the Ireland National Gallery, Giant’s Causeway along the coast of Northern Ireland, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Despite the history behind both of the St. Patrick’s Cathedrals, they are absolutely breathtaking to be in and were some of my favorite churches I have visited. Also on my trip, I had booked a Game of Thrones themed tour that went all over Northern Ireland that I would highly recommend. The tour went to Dunluce Castle, Giant’s Causeway, the Dark Hedges, and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
Dinner at BoxtyWhile Northern Ireland by no means has a thriving city life, it is technically a different country and is very worth exploring for its breathtaking nature.
As for the food, I simply must recommend every traveler to visit one specific restaurant. One of my favorite places I’ve ever eaten in my life was a traditional Irish food spot called Boxty. They had some amazing goat cheese balls, gnocchi, crispy fries with horseradish dip, and little “boxtys”-potato chips topped with corned beef and cabbage. If you visit Dublin, you absolutely must visit Boxty to try some authentic and mind blowing Irish food. For those students who will be spending St. Patrick’s Day in Hawaii, one of the best things you can do to get into the spirit is cook. Try your hand at corned beef and cabbage, potato pancakes, or an entire Irish breakfast and tag @kekalahea on Instagram so we can be a part of your at home adventures!