NeuroDivine

A contemplative approach to Charles I, King & Martyr, in an Irish context

30 January is one of those days that carries a particular weight across these islands. The commemoration of Charles I, King & Martyr, sits uneasily in many hearts—and especially in Ireland, where the 17th century left wounds that still echo. For many communities here, the day passes quietly, or not at all. And yet some of us do pause, not to romanticise a painful era, but to acknowledge the tragedy of regicide and the human cost of division.

For neurodivergent people, days like this can stir a special kind of tension. We often feel history in our bones. We notice contradictions others gloss over. We hold multiple truths at once—even when they refuse to sit neatly together. It’s possible to recognise the harm of the past while also honouring a life ended violently. It’s possible to lament the conflict while acknowledging the Anglican tradition’s remembrance of a man who held to conscience at great cost.

Today, NeuroDivine offers a space for gentle honesty:
🌿 Complexity without fear
🕯️ Quiet remembrance rather than celebration
🤝 A commitment to peace where old borders once hardened
💬 Tenderness toward our own mixed reactions

Out of this space comes a hymn rooted in the landscape of Leinster and the Pale—the Liffey plains, the quiet traces of Clonard, the long memory of Tara, the slow curve of the Boyne. The land itself becomes a witness, holding the weight of history with a steadier grace than we often can.

Clonard was one of the great centres of early Irish Christian learning. By invoking it, the hymn places the memory of Charles, King and Martyr within the wider tradition of the Church’s formation of conscience—rooted in prayer, mercy, and truth—rather than in politics or nation

The hymn names Charles simply as your servant Charles—not to elevate him above others, but to acknowledge a life shaped by conscience and ended in violence. Sung today, it becomes a prayer for reconciliation, for healing across old divisions, and for courage to walk the path of light in our own time.

It is a hymn for those who live with layered histories, tender consciences, and the ache of unresolved memory. A hymn for those who long for peace in places where the land still remembers.

Suggested tunes:

• St Anne CM — at a Main Sunday Eucharist
• Martyrdom CM — for quiet reflection
• Dundee CM

Blessed the King Who Bore the Cost

Where Liffey winds through meadowed plains
And Kildare’s fields lie wide,
We bless the King whose steadfast pains
Revealed a truth denied.

By pale-stone ditch and earthen wall,
Where borders marked the land,
His witness bids divided hearts
Seek peace where once they’d stand.

In Clonard’s shade, where saints once taught
The quiet ways of grace,
Your servant Charles learned, as we ought,
To trust Your truth in place.

O Christ, whose cross on Tara’s height
Still claims our wandering sight,
Grant courage when the cost is great
To walk the path of light.

From Boyne’s slow curve to Dublin’s quays,
Let healing rise again;
Bind all who differ, Lord, in love
That bridges foe and friend.

And as we keep his feast in prayer
In choir and cloistered nave,
Renew Your Church in steadfast hope
Through love that heals and saves.

Text copyright 2026 Michael McFarland Campbell. All rights reserved.

Image by ChatGPT