WWC performs at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Dublin on Tuesday, June 29, at 7.30 pm - Finale highlight concert!

The beautiful church of St Bartholomew's, Clyde Road (Dublin), was consecrated in 1867. Many of its original features are intact, such as the sanctuary mosaics and the elaborate wrought iron choir screen. The architect was Thomas Wyat. On June 29 at 7.30 pm, St. Bartholomew's church is going to be the finale highlight concert venue for the Washington Women's Chorus.
The church is celebrated for its fine music. The choir of boys and men, the only remaining all-male parish church choir in the country, generally sings at least one of the choral services each Sunday during term-time. The remainder are sung by the girls’ choir (formed five years ago and now playing an increasingly prominent role in the church’s regular worship as well as undertaking a program of regular concerts and joint events around the city and country), the Elgin Chorale (which sings during choir vacations) and the newly formed chamber choir the Clyde Chorale. The choirs’ repertoire is fully representative of the major styles of choral music from the sixteenth century up to the present day. With its superb acoustic, splendid organ and convenient location, Saint Bartholomew’s is becoming more widely known as an excellent concert venue.
The organ was built in 1887 by Gray & Davison. Rebuilt in 1925, it was then left largely unaltered until 1963 when another firm, J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd, undertook a major restoration. The organ was last rebuilt by Trevor Crowe of Dublin in 2002. The first radio broadcast of an organ recital at the church was made in 1935.

WWC concertizes at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin on Monday, June 28 at 1 pm

The Washington Women's Chorus will sing twice in the Irish capital to conclude its 2010 Ireland Performance Tour. The first of two Dublin concerts is at beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the largest church in Ireland, on Monday, June 28 at 1 pm.
Built in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral stands adjacent to the famous well where tradition has it Saint Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin. A church was built on this site in 1191 and in 1991 they celebrated 800 years of worship. The present building dates from 1220 and during the years it had been extended again and again.
The Cathedral is today the National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland (Anglican). The basis of the present building was built between 1191 and 1270, though little now remains of the earliest work beyond the Baptistry. Much of the work was overseen by Henry of London, a friend of the King of England and signatory of the Magna Carta, who was also involved in the construction of Dublin's city walls and Dublin Castle. The tower (Minot's Tower) and west nave were rebuilt between 1362 and 1370, following a fire. In 1560, one of Dublin's first public clocks was erected in "St. Patrick's Steeple".
Throughout its long history the cathedral has contributed much to Irish life, and one key aspect of this relates to the writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. Swift took a great interest in the building, its services and music and in what would now be called social welfare, funding an almshouse for poor women and Saint Patrick's Hospital.
The Choir School, which had been founded in 1432, supplied many of its members to take part in the very first performance of Handel's Messiah in 1742. It continues and although originally all-male, now also admits girls; a Cathedral Girls' Choir was founded in 2000 and sings once or twice a week. The Organ of St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of the largest in Ireland with over 4,000 pipes. Parts of it date from a Renatus Harris instrument of 1695. It was restored in the 1890s and in 1963.

Home away from Home on June 27, 28 & 29: Jurys Inn Christchurch Hotel in Dublin

The Washington Women's Chorus will be staying at the Jurys Inn Christchurch Hotel during their time in Dublin. Located in Dublin's oldest quarter, directly opposite the historical Christchurch Cathedral, Jurys Inn is just a two minutes walk from Temple Bar, St Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College and fashionable Grafton Street. Jurys Inn hotel in Christchurch is a non-smoking hotel. There are 182 newly refurbished bedrooms in total. The rooms offer high speed internet access and a hair dryer in the bathroom.

Welcome to Dublin!

Dublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of Dublin and became the island's primary city following the Norman invasion. Today, it is ranked 23rd in the Global Financial Centres Index, has one of the fastest growing populations of any European capital city, and is as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha - which places Dublin amongst the top 25 cities in the world. Dublin is a historical and contemporary cultural centre for the island of Ireland as well as a modern centre of education, the arts, administrative function, economy and industry.

Impressions from the Cork Mass & Concert

Cork concert venue for WWC on Saturday, June 26, at 7.30 pm: St. Augustine’s Church

On Saturday, June 26, at 7.30 pm the Washington Women's Chorus sings at St. Augustine’s Church in Cork. The Augustinians, the Order of St. Augustine, owe their origins to Saint Augustine (354-430 AD), from Hippo in Algeria, who inspired men and women to live in religious communities.
By the 13th century many different Augustinian communities existed and in 1256 Pope Alexander IV created the Grand Union of all existing Augustinian Congregations to form what we know today as the Order of St. Augustine.
The Order of St. Augustine came to Cork some time between 1270 and 1300. As the Augustinian historian, Fr. Thomas C. Butler OSA writes: "If we take 1272 as a date of petition for approval to open a foundation in Cork, it would have taken some years for the planning and building so we can safely assume that the latter took place between 1275 and 1285.
The Priory was dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, but was recorded on ancient maps as St. Austin's 1545 and St. Augustine's 1610. Later still it became known as the "Red Abbey" because of the red sandstone used in the church. The Towers were added after the middle of the 14th century.
The Red Abbey was raided in 1630, but the friars, forewarned, had fled. This was a short lived closure and the friars were back again, until 1644 when all priests and friars were expelled from the city, and the Red Abbey was taken over by the protestant Dean of Cork, Richard Boyle.Lady Fanshawe leased the Red Abbey, but had to leave when Cromwell came in 1649, and stabled his horses in the building.
Returns on the State of Popery for 1766 give "a friary - Augustinian - in Fishamble Lane. It was located where a side entrance leads into the Franciscan church. Formerly Mill St, the site of the church is shown on De Rocque's map of 1759.
In 1776 the friars were living in an old tottering house, with an old tottering chapel nearby. They started to look for a suitable site and ran into difficulty with the bishop of Cork. The friary in Fishamble Lane was in the parish of St. Finbar's, and the new site was in SS Peter and Paul's.In 1778 the Augustinians chose a site on Brunswick St, at the time within the South Parish. Again the Bishop objected, but the Augustinians decided to go ahead with a chapel and dwelling in Brunswick St. now known as St. Augustine's Lane. The community was suspended by the Bishop. The case was taken to Rome.
A decision was given in favour of the friars, with a command to the bishop to bless and open the church when completed. The first stone was laid on November 27th 1780. The Bishop complied with the mandate from the Holy See, and he blessed the new church on June 4th 1781, and he restored the Prior and community to the jurisdiction of the diocese.
The church was extended in 1872 and the Priory built on Washington St, known then as Great George St. The present church structure was built in 1942 and furthered extended in 1972. The Priory was rebuilt in 1982.

Next Stop on the WWC Itinerary: Cork

The Washington Womens's Chorus will enjoy some days in the Irish city of Cork with Incantato Tours. Let's have a closer look at this destination:

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,143, while the addition of the suburban areas contained the county brings the total to 190,384. Cork has a reputation for rebelliousness dating back to the town's support of the English Pretender Perkin Warbeck in 1491 following the Wars of the Roses. As a result, County Cork has earned the nickname of "the Rebel County", while Corkonians often refer to the city as the "real capital of Ireland", and themselves as the "Rebels". The city is built on the River Lee which divides into two channels at the western end of the city. The city centre is located on the island created by the channels. At the eastern end of the city centre they converge; and the Lee flows around Lough Mahon to Cork Harbour, one of the world's largest natural harbours. The city is a major Irish seaport; there are quays and docks along the banks of the Lee on the city's east side.
Music, theatre, dance, film and poetry all play a prominent role in Cork city life. The Cork School of Music and the Crawford College of Art and Design provide a constant throughput of new blood, as do the active theatre components of many courses at University College Cork (UCC). Highlights include: Corcadorca Theatre Company, of which Cillian Murphy was a troupe member prior to Hollywood fame; Cork Film Festival, a major supporter of the art of the short film; The Institute for Choreography and Dance, a national contemporary dance resource; the Triskel Arts Centre; Cork Jazz Festival; the Cork Academy of Dramatic Art (CADA).