Taking advantage of a free day, many of us branched off to shop, visit museums or explore other attractions in Dublin.
Rachel King and Sharon Udasin, for example, went to Kilmainham Gaol, the site of the execution of 16 leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. Recalling the visit, Rachel said, “When I leaned up against the wall in the courtyard where the executions took place, a tour guide told me that this was the most dangerous part of the museum.”
Some of us opted to take in some more religion. Jamie McGee, Melanie Huff, Mary Catherine Brouder, John Byrne (our driver/Irish history encyclopediac) and I went along to a Sikh temple, called Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar, in Sandymount, Dublin, about a 10-minute drive from the city center.
En route to the temple, which provides evidence of ongoing changes in Ireland, we encountered a refreshing reminder of Ireland’s past. As we drove by Dublin’s Grand Canal, John told us that Patrick Kavanagh, the great Irish poet, lived nearby and took much inspiration from his walks in the area. There is even a statue of Kavanagh near the canal. John rarely misses an opportunity to recite a few lines of Irish poetry, and today, fortunately, was no exception. Quoting from a poem titled “Lines written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin,” he said:
O commemorate me where there is water,
Canal water, preferably, so stilly
Greeny at the heart of summer. Brother
Commemorate me thus beautifully
Shortly after 10 a.m., we arrived at the temple, which was founded in 1987. It is the only Sikh temple for the 3,000-plus Sikhs in Ireland, and 200 to 400 people worship there each Sunday.
After entering, we took off our shoes in the lobby and took note of a sign that stated, “Please do not bring alcohol or tobacco onto the premises.” Because it’s a requirement that hair be covered, Melanie, Mary Catherine and Jamie each brought scarves, while John and I donned orange bandanas that were on offer.
Jasvir Singh, a priest at the temple who came to Ireland in 1996 from Punjab, in India, lives at the temple, which is open 24 hours a day. Many of the Sikhs who come to worship are students, Jasvir said. Others work in the field of medicine.
Although there was no service or event scheduled, 10 worshipers showed up to meet us. During most of our meetings throughout the trip, reporters vastly outnumbered sources. Today, however, was a different story, and the five of us who visited the temple and were able to interview those present, felt rather spoiled.
The men launched into a detailed account of their experiences in Ireland. Before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, they said, many Irish were simply curious about Sikhs’ beards and turbans. But the treatment of Sikhs in Ireland worsened considerably following the attacks. Almost all of the men have been verbally abused because of their race, at some point. Some have been physically attacked.
“When I came here in 2003, there were only a few Sikhs,” said Gurmeet Singh, 26, who is studying business administration at London College Dublin, in Merrion Square. “Then the reaction for me in Ballyfermot, where I used to work, was that kids would call me ‘bin Laden.’ This happened many times.”
Others reported being branded members of the Taliban. Sukhjind Singh, 32, who came to Ireland in September 2001, said he once had bottles thrown at him by kids. “They asked me if I was wearing a bomb under my turban. People just didn’t know the difference between Muslims and Sikhs,” he said.
The men also recalled the case of a Sikh in Ireland who wanted to join the police force but was told he would have to remove his turban. This case proved especially offensive. “A turban is like a crown – you cannot take it off,” said Dr. Jasbir Singh Puri, a trustee at the temple. “We have to keep our identity at all costs. We want to be integrated, not assimilated.”
Despite these incidents of discrimination, the men had generally favorable impressions of Irish people. Even when discussing troubling events, they spoke without anger or hatred. They were among the most open and welcoming sources I have encountered on our trip.
In the afternoon, about 12 of us met at Trinity College for a tour of campus and a viewing of the Book of Kells. Laura Insensee said she found the Coptic influence on the design of the book fascinating, as she has been studying the Christian Orthodox faith. “To learn about that connection was really interesting,” she said.
Later, Pilar Conci went to a Polish Catholic Church on High Street, where she saw groups of Polish people waiting for a priest to bless the food they will eat on Easter Sunday. “This isn’t something that Irish Catholics would do,” Pilar said. “It’s a uniquely Polish Catholic experience.”
In the evening, Laura and I attended a service at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the first Russian Orthodox Church established in Ireland, located in the inner suburb Harold’s Cross. Because it is a former Church of Ireland Chapel, it features stained glass windows and balconies, two features atypical of Russian Orthodox churches. Around 20 people arrived for the prayer service, and all of the women wore head scarves, a requirement of this church. The wonderful singing of the priest along with the five-person choir, which mixed beautiful melodies with pitch-perfect harmonies, was particularly striking.
The experience of Russian Orthodox Christians in Ireland has been less turbulent than that of the Sikhs, at least according to the Rev. Michael Gogoless, who said the church has a “very good” relationship with the Catholic Church. “We do work hand in hand,” he said, referring to issues such as their stance against abortion, and other social policy positions. He said that one-third of his congregation is made up of Irish worshipers, some of whom married a Russian Orthodox Christian and then converted. The congregation also includes a wide range of other nationalities in addition to Russians.
Finally, after dinner, some of us retired to O’Donoghue’s Pub on Merrion Row. This pub is famous for its association with the Irish traditional band, The Dubliners, and here we listened to some traditional Irish music – or “trad”, as it is referred to in Ireland. For many of us, this felt like a fitting way to end what has been a very successful trip.
