Mission Blog #37

Life is a Battle Sometimes

Battle of the Boyne Historic Site - one of the most important battles of Ireland's history, and the largest battle fought on Irish soil. The 3 main issues; the throne of England, French dominance in Europe, and power and control in Ireland.

This was a family affair - James II had been deposed as King of England by his son-in-law, William and sought to recover his throne through Ireland with French support.

In hearing the site historians talking about only 1,500 casualties out of 60,000 troops who fought that day in 1690, I had my doubts as to the commitment and sincerity of purpose of the battle leaders... but, can you imagine what it would have been like had James had killed his son-in-law or William killing his father-in-law. When it appeared that James was outnumbered and the battle could not be won, James simply withdrew and that was that.

A home, known as Oldbridge House, now sits on 500 acres that take in most of the original battlefield. The house was built in 1830's. 

Walled gardens, an orchard, and a sunken octagonal garden are features of the restored gardens today.  

On a warm day, nothing better than an ice cream 99.

We enjoyed going out for dinner with Elder Truman and Schneider, at the Windsor.

In previous blogs I've mentioned our friend Aemon Donnelly who lives on his own up near Moy, Northern Ireland. He had a serious fall at home and couldn't get up to call for any help. After 15 hours or so, his nephew Eugene (Right), felt an impression that he should go check on Aemon - 4 hours from where Aemon lives. Eugene is the one who found Aemon and essentially saved his life. We enjoyed visiting with Eugene and his boys, talking about experiences we've had with promptings, warnings, premonitions - the whisperings of the Spirit, offered to us from a loving Heavenly Father.

Our weekly activities took us to Drogheda - thought we had an appointment with one individual but that turned into a 'no-show'. While waiting though, our friend Eric came by on his way to his English school. We enjoyed catching up with Eric, who is here working part-time, and taking English classes. Eric is from Rio in Brazil.

Fish 'n chips or a curry and chips are an always welcome break.

The English school in Drogheda is the 4 storey building across the river.

That's right folks... if we don't support our local chippy shop, they could all be gone by 2025! So, get out there and do your best to help save them.

This was a 1/2 page image on a UK newspaper front page we saw while visiting some family on the weekend in Belfast. I can say that we are doing our bit to save them!

Back deck at James and Lorraine's - nothing but blue skies and beautiful temperatures.

We love seeing all the beautifully landscaped properties wherever we go on this beautiful island. 

We decided it was time to be like a tourist and go see Giant's Causeway, up near Portrush. We left Saturday morning from Belfast and got there at 9:15, ahead of the tourist rush. The fog of the morning had lifted and we had a very nice walk down to the shore.

Look up the legend of the causeway being built by Irish giant Finn MacCool, as a challenge to the Scottish giant Brenandonner.

Giant's Gate - is a gap at the end of the causeway. The columns are huge and you walk through them to get to Port Noffer.

The rock formation is a unique and stunning group of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. They were created as a result of volcanic activity in the area. The tallest columns are about 12 metres tall.

The causeway was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

There is a camel hidden in the rock formations. Can you spot it?

It has taken some discipline not to get distracted by a favorite pasttime (golf) while on our mission. Any golf diehards may recognize this coastal scene and the golf course above the beach - Royal Portrush. Founded in 1888, it (the Dunluce Course), is considered among the top 10 golf courses in the world. It hosted the Open Championship in 1951 and 2019 (which saw Irishman Shane Lowry lift the Claret Jug). 

It has once again been announced as the venue for the 153rd Open Championship in 2025.

To dream....

We returned to Belfast and drove to the Belfast Titanic Museum. It is a first-class museum, which lays out the man-power and technology of ship-building in early 1900's, and how Belfast was the world's leader in shipbuilding for many years.

My favorite part was the shipyard ride - where you climb into a car on tracks that takes 4 of you on a 10 minute journey through a mock up of a ship interior while under construction. There are video and displays that demonstrate things such as the riveting process, some of the safety measures (there were few), and details of the workweek (54 hours), 1 week off of vacation, plus 2 days at Christmas and Easter, plus the sounds/noise of hundreds of workers giving their all to build something magnificent, which they did.

It wasn't all fun and games on the tour of the museum. 

There was a very poignant room that gave details on all of the failings that occurred. People like me who had a career in risk management view this tragic event as completely avoidable, even with the technology of that day.

A few years back, we saw the Titanic exhibit hosted by the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. I learned then that one of the crew, who did not survive the voyage, bears our family name. I researched him at the time. Some records show he lived in Liverpool, but another shows he last lived in Southampton. Born in Birkenhead Merseyside, England. He was a 1st Class Bedroom Steward, earning 3 pounds stirling, 15 shillings per month. His body was never identified. Husband, and father of 3 children.

William was the son of an Irish (Belfast born) father, Henry McMurray, and a Scottish mother, Isabella Oswald.

Although I have not established a familial connection other than the surname, learning about William, an esteemed White Star employee, and beloved father and husband, brings home the depth of the tragedy felt by so many.

In dry-dock near where the Titanic Museum is, sits the 'Nomadic', which served as the tender ship at the port of Cherbourg, France when the Titanic stopped to pick up passengers there.

This tender carried up to 1,000 passengers. Going onboard you can get a sense of the excitement that would have accompanied the passengers who looked forward to their Titanic voyage beginning at Belfast, then to Southampton, to Cherbourg, Queenstown, Ireland, then on to New York City.

The unsinkable Molly Brown survived, and lived a pretty amazing life after the Titanic voyage.

Even on the tender vessel, the passengers of different class were segragated from one another.

Sister and brother enjoying a moment in the sun. Perhaps one of the lessons of Titanic could be - to make each moment count, especially the days with our loved ones.

James and granddaughter, and a favorite of ours, Cara. 

We don't forget those who have gone before. We stopped by to see the grave/memorial for some of Lorraine's family. 

We know life can be fragile. So we enjoy each moment together, give hugs and expressions of love, knowing that there are no guarantees - as there were no guarantees for those lost in the Titanic disaster of 1912.

The best parts of our week are visiting with widows, or elderly single folks, when we can provide some encouragement through sharing a gospel message or our testimonies. We teach principles that we feel will provide the lasting happiness and joy that we all seek.

John 14: 27

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be 'troubled, neither let it be afraid.'"

Love you all,

  Elder Eric & Sister Tina McMurray