'We were happy in Swaziland'

'We were happy in Swaziland'

Frank remembers life in Swaziland and visiting Isreal.

Frank Gaynor

Trinity College Dublin

1979

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Frank Gaynor

Marriage and Family

Life Story

Jerusalem, Isreal

1970's

We were happy in Swaziland. Work and golf were going very well for both of us. I may have made the mistake of thinking that I was in some way indispensable, and I definitely thought that my contract would be renewed. This all changed when I received a letter from the Ministry of Education telling me that my contract would not be renewed. Over the following couple of months this story took a few unexpected turns. A short while after receiving this letter I met with the British High Commissioner, who was from Northern Ireland, at a cocktail party in the Royal Swazi Hotel. He expressed surprise when he heard that I would be leaving at the end of my contract. He checked that I was willing to stay on for another two years, and said that he would have a word with the Director of Education. Some time later I received a letter from the Ministry of Education stating that I was been offered a new two year contract and that I was being posted to Nhlangano College. I was delighted. As the children were in school in Manzini we decided to maintain a home in Manzini while I commuted to Nhlangano. We bought a Datsun pick - up suitable for the journey to and from Nhlangano, part of which was dirt road. A month or so later a consultant from ODA arrived in Swaziland and lost no time in setting up a meeting with me. After hearing my version of what happened, he told me that, because my name was not on the list of candidates for renewal of contract ODA had received from Swaziland, he had gone ahead with recruiting someone to replace me at Nhlangano College. He had already identified a suitable candidate and had offered the post. Because of the apparent mix - up he said ODA was prepared to offer me a grant to study for a Masters degree. I was left wondering why I was omitted from the list in the first place.Israel - Revisiting the BibleOne year we decided to visit Israel on our way back to Swaziland. We had all four children with us. We emerged from Tel Aviv airport along what looked more like a slipway for boats than an airport exit, and were greeted by an excited mass of people in an open area where chaos reigned supreme. We got a taste of the pop star treatment, but this was a normal afternoon at Tel Aviv airport. In Jerusalem we found suitable accommodation in the YMCA hotel, which was just a few minutes' walk from the Old City. As I try to recall this week in Israel I am amazed at how many of the places mentioned in the bible we managed to see. The modern city of Jerusalem is much like any other modern city, and consequently of little interest to a first time visitor. Apart from a visit to the Knesset building, where parliament meets, while in Jerusalem we concentrated on exploring the Old City by foot. The Old City is a walled area of less than 1 sq km, within the modern city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims. We visited the magnificent Dome of the Rock on Mount Temple, which tends to dominate the skyline, and is the most famous Islamic site in Jerusalem. Nearby is the Wailing Wall, where Jews come to pray. A 20 - minute walk away we found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Control of this church is shared by several Christian churches. In this area are the spots where it is thought Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. For those who do not suffer from claustrophobia a walk through the narrow streets of Old Jerusalem is a fascinating experience. The Via Dolorosa, the route that Jesus took on the way to his crucifixion, is 500 m long and passes through these busy streets that are lined with tourist shops.It was very interesting finding the various places mentioned in the bible, and seeing where they were in relation to each other. It felt a bit like assembling a jigsaw. The Kedron Valley, which runs along the eastern wall of the Old City, separates Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives. The garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Some of the olive trees in the garden looked so old that they could have been there the night of Jesus's agony and betrayal. Walking on the slopes of the Mount of Olives we came on the Tomb of Lazarus. A local man accompanied me down the 24 very uneven stone steps into the tomb, while Monica waited with the children at the entrance, none too confident that I would resurface again. We also went to the Last Supper Room, which is a second floor room, above the Tomb of David on Mount Zion, an elevated area west of the Mount of Olives.We hired a taxi to take us to Bethlehem, where we visited the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds' Fields. The Church of the Nativity is built over the cave where it is believed Jesus was born. The silver star that now marks the birthplace of Jesus, is under the altar and some distance below ground level.For our journey up north as far as Nazareth we hired a taxi for the full day, and got great value for our money. Along the way we stopped for a while to let the children paddle their feet in the River Jordan. We visited the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, and the scene of the marriage feast in Cana. We sat for a while on the Mount of Beatitudes, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. We walked around the ruins of the Capernaum synagogue on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. In 1986 a boat was pulled from the mud in the Sea of Galilee. Because it dated back to the 1st century it was called the Jesus Boat, and can now be seen in the Yigal Allon Museum nearby. Looking across the lake we could see the Golan Heights, that I had first heard of during the 1967 Arab/Israeli 6 - day war. At the time of our visit the Iran/Iraq war (1980 - 1988) was in its early stages, and Sadam Hussein was the 'good guy'. Along the way we passed Mount Tabor, where the Transfiguration of Christ took place. Many of the places that are referred to in the bible as mountains are what I would call medium sized hills.Because of international sanctions at that time our flight from Tel Aviv back to Swaziland took us first to Lisbon, and then down the west coast of Africa to Cape Town - a small inconvenience for a memorable week in Israel.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)