Mission Blog #17

Daniel is a friend who we've made here in our little Branch of the church. He recently moved to Castleblayney, a small town near the Northern Ireland border.  I drove out to visit him in his new home, talk about his preparations for receiving the Melchizidek Priesthood, and go for a brisk walk in the drizzle through the park around the Blayney Castle Lake.

Daniel tells me there are fish in those waters....

Bellingham Castle....we'd call it more of a manor home, built in 1660, burnt down by King James II at one time, then rebuilt and occupied by the Bellingham family until 1950; and then converted into a luxury wedding/special events hotel. We approached the locked gate, pressed the buzzer and explained our curiosity - the manager let us in and we were able to get an idea of what living on this property of 17 acres must have been like.

It only seems like there is a castle in every town in Ireland.....but it's only every other town.

When the roses and other flowers are in full bloom, we can imagine the back garden would be pretty special.

We drove with the Sister Missionaries to Monaghan to visit the Relief Society President and her wonderful family. Anna is Russian born, raised in Latvia. Served her mission in Kiev, where she met Julius, from Lithuania. Anna is a super-dedicated Relief Society President, alot like those who serve in our Sundance Ward and Fish Creek Stake Relief Society leadership - cut from the same cloth - of love, and service.

For anyone who knows about the story of the Finland Temple dedication (I mentioned this in a talk I gave in Parkland Ward prior to leaving Calgary). Well, the Russian saints had all travelled very far to attend the dedication services, several days in some cases. The plan was to begin offering Temple ordinances first in Finnish and then in days after, to open it up for Russians and other nationalities. Keep in mind the past tensions between the countries of Finland and Russia. The Temple Committee counselled together and made the difficult but heartfelt decision to provide the Temple ordinances to the Russian church members who had travelled so far and may not be able to return for months or years. Anna was one of those fortunate and grateful Russian-born members who were in the first session of the Finnish Temple. Charity never faileth.

Battle of the Boyne Historic Site

Oldbridge House, was built in the 18th century on the site of a great battle and is now an interpretative center for what happened there.

Graham is one of the interpretive guides and he was a wealth of historic information. We'll be back just to hear him talk so enthusiastically about every detail of the Battle of the Boyne.

Soldiers from several countries fought together, wearing uniforms that could be confusing to friend and foe. To distinguish the armies, one army wore a white paper flower, and the other, green leafy twig - on their otherwise identical hats. Yes, it was confusing as the #2 in command for one army was killed at point-blanc range by a confused fellow soldier.  Oops! Sorry!

We have several significant historic sites within an hour's drive of our apartment. Every Tuesday we drive to Dublin and on the highway we've seen the brown tourist attraction signs indicating 'Battle of the Boyne Historic Site', so we decided to take the 25 minute ride there on our preparation day (off-day) and check it out.

In front of this grand estate, hosted a battle with the largest number of troops ever deployed on an Irish battlefield, 60,000. English, Scottish, Dutch, Danes, and Huguenots (French Protestants) fought for King William (of Orange) who was the current King of England. William landed at Carrickfergus Castle north of Belfast on June 14, 1690 (we visited Carrickfergus and included some info about it in a previous blog post), and then marched his army of what I calculate as about 110km's in 16 days.

King James II's army (Jacobites) were mainly Irish Catholics, reinforced by 6,500 French troops sent by King Louis XIV. At stake were the British throne, French dominance in Europe, and religious power in Ireland. 

The River Boyne where part of the battle took place. Thousands of troops crossed here, wading through chest-deep water, holding their muskets above their head to keep their powder dry.

The original bridge, Oldbridge, was smaller. This one accepts one-way vehicle traffic only.

Most of the fighting took place on this open plain. 

The River Boyne winds past on the left of this photo. 1,500 died in the battle, William won. Google it and enjoy imagining the mayhem of that day, July 1, 1690.

The shape of Europe, and ongoing issues in Ireland, flow from this battle today. It is fascinating.... but, can't we all just get along?

There are orchards, and many acres of gardens on the Oldbridge House property today, and in the spring I'm sure we'll be back. They have walking tours, re-enactments and many other activities throughout the year.

This week has been filled with visits to friends in Newry, Northern Ireland, and Monaghan, and Castleblayney. We've visited with friends Nicholas and Tannis back home from Sun Valley Drive on FaceTime, and with our family in England and Calgary. We're using the GPS to find our way around less and less; but technology is pretty awesome - when it works. 

We're looking forward to another great week of visiting with widows, individuals having had recent major surgeries, some who have been ill with flu or Covid, and a few who are struggling with staying upbeat and positive in these troubled times of ours, and some have made poor choices that have brought serious consequences. Let's all remember that the past is the past, we can move forward without carrying burdens. It is through the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ that we can take his yoke upon us, his burden being light. As His disciples, we can all lend a kind word of encouragement or a listening ear, to make someone's day a bit brighter. 

Thank yous for your kindnesses and support.

   Elder & Sister McMurray