A Day in Bray / Bre'

The sun was shining on Thursday so Kathy and I decided that it was a good day to get out.  Lindsay had recommended that sometime we take the train from Connolly Station in Dublin out to the countryside and a little town called Bray (Bre' is the Celtic).  So we decided that this was the day for it.  Who knows when we'd see another day like this?  Once you get off the train in Bray it's about a five mile hike along the coastal cliff to the town of Greystones.   We had packed a lunch and ate it on the way.  Just before we entered Greystones we met an 80 year old man walking the opposite direction.  His name was Herbie Doyle.  He told us his life’s history.  Among other things, he said that ‘Doyle’ is derived from a Norse word meaning “dark stranger.”  We talked about his life in Ireland, his brother’s / cousin’s life in America, the EU, the Lisbon Treaty and a few other things thrown in for good measure.  We'll probably be taking the interns to Bray soon after they arrive.  Learning to use the train, convert currency and the hike itself may be good team-building exercises. 

After returning to Dublin, we decided to return to the Temple Bar area for dinner.  We ate at the Gallagher’s Boxty House.  They have family style seating.  We had an interesting conversation with a retired couple from Tucson, AZ (Ben and Rosie) who travel a great deal.  We even talked about religion.  I tried to give a brief explanation of the gospel as part of our conversation; and I asked what he thought was the greatest objection most people had to Christianity.  He told me his objection to Christianity. It was its lack of scientific proof.  (He would like to see more miracles. But perhaps he should read Psalm 19 and Romans 1.)  On the other side of us was a family from Wales here for a few days on holiday.  We talked about the state of the church in Wales and Europe in general and the revivals that once occurred among the coal miners there .  They attend a church that is part of a circuit of seven churches!  (The preacher is at one of the seven each Sunday, then moves to the next church on the list the next week.)  After the couple from Tucson left, a younger couple sat down in their place.  We had an opportunity to talk to them about the summer Arts Ministry at Abbey Church.  They live in Dublin and said they might show up.  It was invigorating to engage people in conversation about things that matter. 

We saw several Buskers (street performers) in the Temple Bar area of the city.   I got some video, but I can't seem to insert it in the blog.