A 950 year history of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.
One hundred years after the restoration of Christ Church Cathedral by the distiller, Henry Roe a look at the history of this famous Dublin landmark.
Though her silence be polluted by the roar of industry and her walls blackened by automobile fumes, Christ Church stands as her founders of another age intended.
Joseph Coady is the verger of Christ Church and his job is to provide access to the cathedral to all who wish to enter 'The House of Strongbow'.
The history of Christ Church goes back to legends about Saint Patrick but recorded facts only began in the 9th century. Christ Church was founded by the Norsemen in 1038 when King Sigtrygg gave Bishop Dúnán the hill of Dublin as a site for a cathedral.
The Very Rev Tom Salmon Dean of Christ Church describes the early days of Christ Church Cathedral as a simple, wooden structure. When the Normans arrived with their gift for building, Strongbow and St Laurence O'Toole began to rebuild the cathedral into the building that we know today. There have been several restorations over the years but the building remains exactly as Strongbow and St Laurence planned it.
Canon AE Stokes Member of the Board describes how in Elizabethan times in 1562, the main fabric of the building almost collapsed completely. The Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney carried out repairs which remained until Victorian times when the cathedral was completely renovated, funded by Dublin businessman and distiller Henry Roe.
A group of students are given a tour of the crypt of the cathedral.
'The House of Strongbow' was broadcast on 25 April 1978. The narrator is Bill Golding.
