Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and Its Incredible Door

When you take a tour of the National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland, you get more than just pews and stained glass (although those are amazing too).

St. Patrick’s Cathedral:

This historic building holds so many stories and histories, including the legendary origin of the Cathedral itself. It’s said that there was a well on this site, and Saint Patrick himself would frequent here, both to drink from the well and preach Christianity to the people of Ireland.

I think, however, that I found my favourite story inside with this door. In Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, a door stands. This door dates back to 1492 and is called the Door of Reconciliation. The door was originally the entrance to this very building, when two Dublin-based noble families (the Butlers and the Kildares) were at war about who would control Dublin City as Lord Deputy.

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin City, photographed by Nuria Puentes.

The Butlers eventually locked themselves in the Cathedral, calling for sanctuary, a moment’s peace from the ongoing attacks. After this, with progress going nowhere, the Kildares decided to offer up a peace agreement.  But the Butlers were more than suspicious of their enemy. Why trust the people actively warring against you?

As a show of good faith, the Kildares ordered that a hole be cut in the door, and they reached in to shake the hands of the Butler family. This would lead to the very Irish phrase “chancing your arm”. After the very real possibility that the Kildare family member would, in fact, lose his arm.

The two families agreed to the peace terms and went on to rule Dublin together. What a happy ending! A rarity for the time.

You can come to see the door of reconciliation at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, too! By heading to their wesbite here