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!
