Sir, – In connection with your editorial of Saturday, December 23rd, relating the story of the development of the traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols ("Christmas: A message of solidarity"), the following may be of interest to your readers.
The tradition of interspersing short readings with carols began when Bishop Edward Benson of Truro (who later became Archbishop of Canterbury) devised a special service for use on Christmas Eve, 1880. Since then, the service has become universally popular and many people nowadays listen to the live radio broadcast on Christmas Eve from St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
Less well known, however, is that the first service in Ireland of Nine Lessons with Carols took place in North Strand Church, Dublin on Christmas Eve, 1914. It was conducted by the Rev David FR Wilson, who had become aware of the special Christmas Eve service from his reading of a work by Archbishop Benson. He described the Nine Lessons as forming “a ladder of Messianic prophesy from Eden to Bethlehem, from the Fall to the Redemption”.
David Wilson was appointed rector of Drumcondra and North Strand in 1914, having previously been succentor of St Patrick’s Cathedral and warden of the cathedral grammar school.
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His appointment did not break his connection with the cathedral; on the day of his institution to the parish he was made a minor canon of St Patrick’s, where he continued to assist in the singing of the daily services. He was a noted authority on hymns and a composer of distinction. He studied in depth the old traditional carols, which he introduced in place of the then prevalent custom of singing Christmas hymns.
In 1917, David Wilson became rector of Donnybrook and then Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1935, where he introduced the now famous service of Nine Lessons and Carols, a beloved part of our Christmas celebrations, and broadcast by RTÉ for many years now at 4pm on Christmas Eve, live from the cathedral.
In December 2014 a special service of Nine Lessons and Carols was held in North Strand Church, Dublin, to commemorate the centenary of the first such Irish service. – Yours, etc,
Rev Canon ROY H BYRNE,
(Rector of Monkstown
and Precentor
of Christ Church Cathedral,
Dublin),
The Rectory,
Monkstown,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – You write that the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a “stable” tradition. Was the pun intended? – Yours, etc,
MARY BYRNE,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.