WHAT WAS AMISS?

I am happy to say that this post (click here) had a grand response on our school facebook page.  As promised, I will now reveal the little inaccuracies in the otherwise beautiful sketch by the late Bill Guihan.

The sketch of St Patrick’s Church itself is actually faultless.  It was completely accurate when it was drawn in the 1980s.  The problems arose when the artist inserted the horse and buggy and the old fashioned people walking down the church yard.  Those touches indicated a much earlier time.  Someone pointed out that the horse and buggy were driving on the wrong side of the street.  That was a good observation but, as someone else said, we drove on the left until 1947 so that wasn’t the problem.  Other suggestions were that St Patrick’s statue wasn’t enclosed. St Patrick’s statue wasn’t there at that time so that isn’t it either.  Anyway, I have enjoyed all your remarks on this and I am really grateful to you for making the effort and having a go.  I hope you have enjoyed it too.  But what makes the church and the horse and buggy, etc, so incompatible?  Let’s have a look.

Bill Guihan's beautiful drawing of St Patrick's Church

Well first of all, that side door pictured at the very left of the church was not there until the 1960s.  (Not too many horses trotting up Patrick St then.) That was installed during the restorations carried out by Msgr Murphy to make it easier for the elderly because it had fewer steps than the main door.  A couple of you picked up on the side door and someone else came very close to it.  Those steps at the main door are an epic climb for anyone!  

The railings at the right side of the picture are a later addition so couldn’t have been seen by the folks who travelled by horse drawn carriages.

I think that the statue referred to by one of you is the one on the bank at the side of the church.  If it is, that is the statue of Our Lady and that too is a much later addition; perhaps 1980s.  St Patrick is in his glass box at the side of the church now but he wasn’t there when Bill Guihan gave us this excellent sketch of our beloved St Patrick’s Church.

Bill Guihan was a very talented artist and I really love this picture of St Patrick’s.  However, a little part of me wishes that he had drawn what he saw and left it at that.

Again, thanks everyone for taking part in this little adventure. You St Patrick’s people are absolutely wonderful!