Nelson’s Pillar: a sermon in stone
Little did I think that, years later, I would receive a portion of it which I gave to a groom as a token of his 'worldly goods' on the celebration of a wedding I was involved with.
The groom's mother had asked me if I could procure a ten shilling coin which would fit the (symbolic) bill instead of the ordinary one.
Not knowing if there was such a monetary disc, I eventually found one in a bank in College Green. It had Winston Churchill's head on one side, and it seems that only a limited number were minted after World War II. Delighted with my sterling efforts, the good lady gave me in return a chunk of Nelson's Pillar which her son had picked up off the street after it was blown up.
Later I donated the artefact to the a local school museum where it took pride of place beside a piece of lava from the Vesuvius volcano. For my money, it has become a sermon in stone (or Wicklow granite). While it was itself a victim of violence in contrast with the volcanic rock which was a symbol of Mother Nature's explosive power it is a precious token wedded to human gratitude and, indirectly, to the happiness and peace (albeit partly attending possessions) symbolised by the ten shilling piece.
It lives on, in its own small way, as a bizarre monument to virtue.
Fr Pat Deighan,
1, Beach Park,
Laytown,
Co Meath.
