The choirs of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and St Barthlomew's Church, Clyde Road, Dublin, will join forces during Easter Week for a trip to London.
Next Wednesday, in the Church of St Lawrence Jewry, they will give a lunchtime concert, the proceeds of which will go to the Armagh Cathedral Choir Music Fund Appeal. The programme will include items with a particular Armagh connection, including the work of eminent composer Charles Wood, who was born in Armagh. On Thursday the choirs will sing Evensong in Southwark Cathedral and the high point of the tour will be on Saturday, April 22nd, when they will sing Evensong in the magnificent setting of Westminster Abbey.
This evening 3Rock, the Dublin and Glendalough Youth Department, is holding an Easter eve event for teenagers and university students in St Ann's Church, Dawson Street, at 7pm. This will be an informal occasion and all involved are encouraged to bring video clips, poems, short stories or any other aids that might assist in the contemplation of Easter.
Tomorrow the Archbishop of Armagh will be the celebrant at the Armagh Diocesan Youth Dawn Service at the Argory in Moy. In Enniskerry there will be a "Sonrise Service" at 6.24am in the old Powerscourt church on the Powerscourt estate.
The bishops, by tradition, preach in their diocesan cathedrals. In St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, the preacher will be the dean, Dr Robert MacCarthy, and in Belfast Cathedral the preacher will be the Bishop of Connor. In the chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, the second in the series of "Picture Sermons" will be given by College Chaplain Dr Alan McCormack, who will discuss The Beheading of Christ, by Puvis de Chavannes, in the context of the story of the risen Christ.
Next Tuesday is St Laserian's Day, which will be celebrated in St Laserian's Cathedral, Leighlin, where the dean is the Very Rev Gordon Wynne. Laserian, also known as Molaise, died in 639. He was abbot of Old Leighlin, Co Carlow, and founder of Innishmurray, Co Sligo. He is remembered for supporting the Roman rather than the Celtic calculation for the observance of Easter.
On Wednesday the Archbishop of Dublin will visit the Apostolic Nunciature where the first anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict will be marked.
On April 22nd there will be an interdisciplinary symposium on "Music and Liturgy of the Medieval Church" in the department of music in NUI Maynooth. Details may be had from http://music.nuim.ie/Symposium.shtml
In St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, on Monday, April 24th, the inaugural McAdoo lecture will be given by the Rt Rev Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford, who will speak on Harry McAdoo and the work of ARCIC. It will be the first in an annual series in memory of the late bishop of Ossory and archbishop of Dublin.