St. Columb’s Cathedral

This morning I finished my second edit of the Japanese competitive law article then hit the road for Derry, a half hour later than I had expected. I picked up Mary Richmond, a friend of my mom's, then we went to visit Biddy Walker, who lives in a massive crumbling Georgian home. Mary’s husband Sammy grew up on the Walker estate, where his mother worked for the Walkers as a cleaner. He and his many siblings were childhood pals with Brigid’s husband Aubrey Walker and his many siblings. Aubrey and Sammy died within six months of each other about two years ago, leaving Mary and Biddy quite lonely. They’d never met, so I brought Mary over and the two of them had a good chat about the old days. Aubrey’s sister Mary was also there and she recounted stories that delighted Sammy’s Mary--Aubrey and Sammy setting things on fire, Aubrey and Sammy nearly getting sawed in half after falling through the roof above the saw mill, etc etc. Here is a photo of me with Biddy and Aubrey taken in 2010 in front of their house.

As far as I can tell, the facade is a coating of concrete with lines drawn in it. They got a grant for a facelift. I imagine the original exterior was in too poor shape to repair.

Then I went to St. Columb’s Cathedral for a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Foyle College, the protestant high school in Derry, which I attended from 1974-1980. As I noted on Facebook, not many Americans get to attend such an event. An internet photo of the cathedral:

The highlight of the event for me was a boy’s choir that was angelic. It actually had men and boys of all ages, however the voices of the boys were ethereal. An interior photo:

Here’s a bit of church history:
“St. Columb's is the first Cathedral in the British 'Isles to have been built after the Reformation and is a fine example of 'Planter's Gothic'. There was practically no change in the appearance of the building from 1633 to 1776 when the Bishop of Derry (the 4th Earl of Bristol) added 21 feet to the tower, and placed above this a very tall and graceful stone spire, making a total height of 221 feet.”

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