SNIPPET: On a recent visit to Ireland from the USA, my sister and I were "mesmerized" by the age, history, vastness and beauty of St. Mary's Cathedral, founded in the 1168 on a hill on the King's Island which is the oldest part of Limerick. It has been a house of prayer for over 830 years. In fact, it is the oldest building in Limerick which is in daily use. Each day there is at least one service of worship. The priests and people who worship there belong to the Church of Ireland, but all Christians are welcome. The Cathedral was built where the palace of one of the Kings of Munster, DONAL MOR O'BRIEN once stood. He donated this same site for the building of a church. Long before this, on the same island, the Vikings had pushed their beaked longships ashore and built their meeting place or "thingmote" - their most western European stronghold. King DONAL MOR O'BRIEN also built the Cathedral atop the rock of Cashel, St. Flannan's Cathedral in Killaloe, and the Holy Cross Abbey in Co. Tipperary. Of all the things that people come to see in St. Mary's the Misericords are the most famous. These are the only examples of this kind of furniture preserved in Ireland. The name "misericord" comes from a Latin word meaning "act of mercy." Carved from oak, between 1480 and 1500, from the woods at Cratloe, Co. Clare, the seats are constructed so that they may be raised. In the early Church people stood throughout the services. In fact, at one time sitting was forbidden. On the lip of each of the 23 seats there is a ledge which was designed to allow the occupant, though appearing to stand, to rest during long services, hence the name "Mercy Seats." The oak from Cratloe has been used since the 11th century. The beams of the roof of Westminster Hall, London and those in this Cathedral also came from Cratloe. Each misericord is now a stall for a member of the Cathedral Chapter. The beautifully executed carvings on the underside of the seats with their human heads, angel, monsters, represent symbols of good and evil - in some cases their conflict - and incorporate such things as a griffin (half eagle, half lion), antelopes, two-legged dragon, two-headed dragon, etc., and a swan, which is one of the finest carvings.