28.09.2022
Ireland’s links with Norway celebrated as City Council unveils plaque on site of St Olave’s Church
Dublin City Council has this morning (Wednesday September 28) unveiled a plaque marking the site of St Olave’s Church, which stood on Fishamble Street, in the heart of the Viking town.
St Olaf (or Olave) is the patron saint of Norway, and sites associated with him are found across the Viking world.
The Dublin church was founded sometime in the 11th century and was in use for over 200 years.
The proposal to erect the plaque came from the former Norwegian ambassador to Ireland, Else Berit Eikeland, who has since moved to Estonia, a country which also has connections to St Olave.
Speaking at the unveiling, the current Norwegian Ambassador, Mari Skåre said, “The plaque marking the site of St Olave’s Church is in a broader way a testimony of the strong connection and common history our two countries share, from the first Norwegians to come to shore until today. The ocean brought us together then and will continue to do so, also in the future.”
The plaque was unveiled by Cllr Michael Pidgeon, representing the Lord Mayor, who remarked, “I’m delighted to see Dublin’s historic links with Norway marked in this way, commemorating a place where Dubliners who walked our streets many hundreds of years ago came to pray, to celebrate the festivals of the year, and to baptise their children, and to mourn their dead.”
Named for being the place where for centuries fish were sold, Fishamble Street is one Dublin’s oldest streets, having been laid out originally in 10th century.
The decision to erect the plaque was made by the Dublin City Council Commemorations & Naming Committee, whose chair, Councillor Micheál Mac Donncha said, “The Commemorative Plaques Scheme allows the City to formally commemorate events which have made a significant contribution to the life of Dublin. We welcome suggestions from the public for people and events to be commemorated, and full details are on the Council website.”
Emeritus Professor of Medieval and Socio Economic History at UCD, Howard Clarke, gave some background information on St Olaf who was King of Norway from 1016 to 1029, having had a “classic Viking career”. Having lost his kingship he died in battle on July 29 1030 and was declared a saint the following year. While the church in Dublin is not mentioned in any records until the late 12th century, Prof Clarke said it was most likely founded around 1030. Its position on Fishamble Street suggests that it served Scandinavian Christian sailors and traders. Details of the church are few and by the 1600s houses are shown on the site in maps of the area. No trace of the church was found in the excavations of Wood Quay.
The unveiling of the plaque was attended by Bishop Herborg Finnset of the Church of Norway in Trondheim. She said there were many links between Norway and Dublin but some were hidden by the modern city. Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is the biggest medieval cathedral in the Nordic countries and was built over the burial place of St Olaf. It was Olaf who introduced Christianity to Norway, she explained adding that he became a symbol of Norway’s independence and pride. But she said it was likely that Irish Christians tried to introduce the faith to Norway earlier.
