Dublin People - Lord Mayor’s cast marks a 520-year-old ritual

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Lord Mayor’s cast marks a 520-year-old ritual

Thursday, 26 June 2008

THE Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Paddy Bourke, has followed the rites of his predecessors in performing the ‘Casting of the Spear’ at Dublin Port.
The medieval tradition dates back as far as 1488 when the then Lord Mayor, Thomas Mayler, set out on his horse to ride the city’s boundaries.
According to historical records, Mayler rode out onto the strand as far as a man could ride and from there he cast a spear into the sea.
At that time, casting the spear was done to show the extent of the city boundaries eastwards.
From that day onwards the Lord Mayor of Dublin performed a re-enactment of the ceremony every year.
However, unlike his earliest predecessors, Lord Mayor Bourke, who is also Admiral of Dublin Port, sailed out into Dublin Bay onboard a tugboat and launched a spear deep into the bay’s cold waters, once again marking the position of the city’s eastward boundaries.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Bourke described the re-enactment as a great honour.
“It is highly appropriate that Dublin’s First Citizen has held this honorary position for over 500 years, as this port has played such an instrumental role in the commercial development of Ireland’s capital city,” he said.
“Economies are built on trade so it’s no surprise that the majority of the world’s top cities have working ports at their heart.
“Having a port in such close proximity to the city gives Dublin a great competitive advantage and it stands in the company of cities like London, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, all of whom boast a major port.”
He added: “We should also remember the port’s contribution to one of Dublin’s greatest assets – the creation of the North Bull Island.
“Were it not for Dublin Port our citizens would not be able to enjoy such an outstanding amenity.”
Dublin Port Company chief executive, Enda Connellan, spoke of role the port has played in the development of the city.
“Dublin Port is immensely proud of its heritage and its long links with the city,” he said.
“This ceremony reminds us of where Ireland’s capital has come from over the last 500 years.”
The Casting of the Spear is just one of many ancient legacies that are associated with the waters of Dublin Bay.
In 1800, Captain William Bligh, of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame, conducted a study of the tidal flows in the bay, which led to the construction of the Great South Wall.
It was the creation of this wall that resulted in the formation of the present Bull Island, which did not exist at the time. It is now home to two golf courses and a bird sanctuary.
Perhaps the most mysterious tale of Dublin Bay is the legend of the Ouzel Galley, an Irish merchant ship that set sail in 1695.
After the vessel failed to return for three years, it was finally presumed lost at sea.
In 1698 a panel comprising the city’s most eminent merchants ruled that the ship had indeed been lost, and that its owners and insurers should receive their due compensation.
The galley’s complement of 37 crew and three officers were declared dead, and the insurance was paid out.
After a further two years had elapsed, the Ouzel Galley suddenly and mysteriously reappeared with her full complement of crew and a valuable cargo of spices and exotic goods.
However, by this stage the insurance had been paid out and in some cases the ‘widows’ of the sailors ‘lost’ at sea had remarried.

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