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But once there they say, “We’re over it, we’re fine, we have no problem with the British”

I think the south have got rid of the Brits whereas there is a bunch up here who don't want to let them go!

and again

I like your conundrum. I do tend to think that it's rather like Ezekiel's rod - while we can still talk about two rods, what was broken has not been fixed. So I cannot fully see the difference between the wounding that says one identity is more truly Irish than another and the wounding that says, 'I'm not Irish, I'm Northern Irish'. Though, I think I'm maybe more up for allowing the old ideas of Irishness and "Northern Irishness" to die in preference of a hybrid (and stronger) one (like in Britain, the strengths of the many nations and cultures come together to add richness and strength, but all are one people... well almost!). I think a test might be in how we are able to receive those coming to us from other lands?

Then the South:

Re your conundrum, we're certainly not "over it", but the pain is further below the surface, so many are much less aware of it than up north. It takes the Lord to bring it to the surface to heal

		Ireland trip August 2005 page 3
Friday
Passing over the Germans awaking at 5.30 am we took our time getting up, going for breakfast and set off for Athlone.				One the way we stopped at Clonmacnoise. I need a few photos to do this place justice. Again this monastery was about community. The place is just more open than Glendalough and has less graves.

Athlone is at the very heart of Ireland. Sally Ann was our link to the place at the invite of Diane Hill who with her husband Trevor pastor River of Life Church. Our first evening was great, meeting up with a team of Canadian teenagers over to do several weeks of dance based outreach. The evening ended in prayer and prophecy. We asked Diane what she would like us to do and she suggested that we might go and pray round the six towns that encircle Athlone. Sounded great till we checked the map! But we duly obliged.
Diane leading worship	Saturday We set out at 8.30 for Roscommon. Roscommon County is where some of Vicky’s ancestors come from, so there was a very personal connection. We prayed what we saw and moved on in turn to Longfort, Mullingar, Tullamore, Birr and Ballinasloe. The circle equates pretty much to driving right round the outside of London in a day. For Sally Ann that would be Swadlincote, Derby, West Bridgford, Melton Mowbray, Leicester, Coalville. or Dudley, Walsall, Tamworth, Nuneaton, Coventry, Warwick, Redditch. Something of that order anyway. or even . . . . . . Belfast, Saul, Newcastle, Newry, Armagh, Portadown. We arrived back in Athlone at 6.30 – a little tired! What good did it do? We may never know of course. For me it felt like a reconnaissance trip fro something that needs doing in greater depth at some time when there are people in each place ready to see the connections.
Roscommon
The Square; Bank; Obelisk; Scales				The High Street

The old gaol			All-seeing eye and the Sacred heart on the Catholic Cathedral There is a Star of David window on what was a Presbyterian Church There was the smell of Fresh Bread
Longford First By way of light relief we found a café which did the whole chocolate thing. On its walls were “texts”			‘Man cannot live by chocolate alone but woman can.’ ‘I'd give up chocolate but I'm no quitter.’ ‘Stressed spelt backwards is desserts.’ ‘Coffee Men Chocolate - the richer the better.’	‘Save the world. It's the only planet with chocolate.’ ‘There's never anything wrong that a little chocolate cannot fix.’ ‘A little too much chocolate is just about right.’
				Open - Welcoming - Bars, Pubs - Colour - Refreshment . Cathedral dominated by front which seemed to imply the submission of Celtic Christianity to Rome. Felt this could be an ‘EPHESUS’ type place
West Meath "English" feel. In writing this up it is the only town I cannot visualize. I’ll need Sally Ann and Vicky to remind me.
			Mullingar German feel to a few of the buildings Famine statue / sculpture as a significant feature – the message of the English failure to help. A sense of resentment in the town Crossroads - Communications Garrison town – “defensiveness” Tramping of feet - Land has been trampled Yield signs at road junctions “A lot of front” (facade) – as if there is stuff hidden behind what appears to be. Possibly a ‘SARDIS’

			Tullamore Canal Dying Industrial town Memorial 1914-1919 war

			Birr Manchester martyrs - Salford Prison Manchester 1867; Robert Emmet executed 1803 - commemorated on pillar of original statue of the Duke of Cumberland commemorating victory at Culloden; We sensed need for Release – Reversal - Cleansing. A Crossroads ( but then all these towns are ). Some positive heritage in the guise of St. Brendan of Birr - Monastery - McRegol Gospels 820ish; 19C Scientific research - astronomy - Learning; Georgian expansion
				Ballinasloe Main Church dedicated to Mary – Our Lady of Lourdes – with outside scene of the appearance of Mary to Bernadette. I felt much as I do in Crossmaglen in South Armagh, which could be an indication of the overpowering presence of the Queen of H Possibly ‘Pergammon’
Ballinasloe


Conclusions? For me there was the feeling that although people had prayed round these towns before and we had now done the same, what was needed was a more concerted and lengthier application to prayer. I would love to be involved in a series of days in which people from Athlone, together with help from outside, connected with Christians in each of these communities. I visualize 3 or 6 days in which a team travelled out to each town, plus time in Athlone. I even thought of the name “Heart and Hearth” for such a time. I saw people praying around the heart of Ireland, on the streets of each town by day and in someone’s home in the evening – thus “Heart and Hearth”
			Sunday I was honestly not looking forward to doing the “go to church” thing – but I was in for a surprise. We just happened to be there the weekend of the annual baptisms! So there were, I think, eleven people being baptised that day. We gathered in the old Methodist church that “River of Life” meet in and most of the meeting was given over to testimonies, the like of which I have never heard. With each one I thought “that can’t be topped” but it was. Some incredibly real and moving stories. Just wonderful.
And then the afternoon was a trip to the Lough for a picnic and the serious business of getting wet. There’s nothing quite like public baptisms. Marvellous. And the weather rose to the occasion, brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies. Picture perfect. What memories they will have!

Prophecy In the evening? More food. More prayer. More prophecy. So incredibly encouraging to meet with virtual strangers and have God speak through them. Just lovely. For me there was the encouragement to keep coming back to Ireland both alone and with small teams – mention of the strength of the three stranded cord – and with possibly larger teams. I also had been aware that both recent trips had been with women and there does seem to be a double thing going on here. The one being about encouraging Ireland to rise up into its rightful place, the other being of doing much the same for women. I think that Sally Ann won’t mind me saying that although she felt no great connection to Ireland as some sort of long term calling, she did have a strong sense that this trip had been about connecting the Heart of England with the Heart of Ireland. I am sensing that as we pray more and more into these issues there will come an acceleration. Getting something moving from standing still is always hard, but once movement has begun it gets easier and easier to move. Similarly we will not need to pray on every street corner in every town, but we do need to continue to pray in enough places so that in time, rather like dropping ink onto paper, seepage will do the connecting. As I’ve said before elsewhere one cannot really go to Ireland to prophesy to the Irish because they are a Prophetic nation. However you can go there expecting to be prophesied to. We all three did and were not disappointed. Thank you Ireland.
Monday And so off home again, with just a slightly embarrassing brush with the Irish Garda before reaching the airport. I am left with a conundrum. There are those who say, “Come to the South. Come to the real Ireland”! But once there they say, “We’re over it, we’re fine, we have no problem with the British” So it’s the North where the pain is”. Three responses from Ireland may help - first the North: I think the south have got rid of the Brits whereas there is a bunch up here who don't want to let them go! and again I like your conundrum. I do tend to think that it's rather like Ezekiel's rod - while we can still talk about two rods, what was broken has not been fixed. So I cannot fully see the difference between the wounding that says one identity is more truly Irish than another and the wounding that says, 'I'm not Irish, I'm Northern Irish'. Though, I think I'm maybe more up for allowing the old ideas of Irishness and "Northern Irishness" to die in preference of a hybrid (and stronger) one (like in Britain, the strengths of the many nations and cultures come together to add richness and strength, but all are one people... well almost!). I think a test might be in how we are able to receive those coming to us from other lands? Then the South: Re your conundrum, we're certainly not "over it", but the pain is further below the surface, so many are much less aware of it than up north. It takes the Lord to bring it to the surface to heal
			More and full size pictures can be viewed at Clonmacnoise http://ntlworld.photobox.co.uk/album/1690790 Dublin http://ntlworld.photobox.co.uk/album/1690619 Glendalough http://ntlworld.photobox.co.uk/album/1690418 Belfast http://ntlworld.photobox.co.uk/album/1690534 Athlone http://ntlworld.photobox.co.uk/album/1701701 (Roscommon etc )

West Meath

Sunday

Prophecy

Monday