the marian year jubilee - old photographs of limerick,...

The Marian Year Jubilee

Limerick’s contribution to a celebration of Faith

1954 – 2004

ForewordThe earliest apparition of the Blessed Virgin is said to be as early as 40 AD, probably before she died, to James the

Apostle in Saragossa, Spain. There have been numerous apparitions since then, but the first in Ireland was on August21st, 1879, in Knock, County Mayo. Margaret Beirne and thirteen others saw a beautiful woman, clothed in white gar-ments, wearing a large brilliant crown.

County Mayo had suffered great distress in the 1870s. Partial famine, poverty and forced evictions had createdanother wave of Irish emigration. It was in this environment that the apparition occurred.

The Church’s response to the apparition was typically circumspect. The Archbishop Most Rev. Dr. John MacHaleset up a commission to gather testimonies of those claiming to see the apparition and then a record of purported cureswas maintained until 1936.

The Commission reported that their evidence was “trustworthy and satisfactory”. The Report was published in thenewspapers and pilgrims began to travel from afar. One of the first organised pilgrimages to Knock Shrine came fromLimerick. Further reports of cures to Limerick people strengthened the connection with Knock.

On June 5th 1880 The Munster News reported the story of a woman from Shanagolden, County Limerick, “whoarrived in Kilrush to take the steamer across the Shannon on her way home from Knock. Having lost her sight someyears previously she had walked all the way to Knock with her young son and during her stay there, recovered her sight.The same steamer had recently put on the pier at Tarbert, a Kerry man having returned from Knock where he alsorecovered his sight. He was so much overjoyed that he leaped with a cry onto the gangway, and sprang over barrelswhich were lying on his path to the public road along which he ran in a transport of gladness.” Such tales of cures forlocals strengthened the devotion of Limerick people to both the Blessed Virgin and Knock.

In the 1940s, the pressing need to re-house people who lived in slum conditions in Limerick City meant that by1950 the area of the city was only 2,386 acres. The city was then expanded to over 5,000 acres by extending the citylimits. By the mid-1950s almost 4,000 new houses were built, on green field sites, in what were to become known as“Corporation Estates.”

These new estates needed to establish a sense of identity and found it in their devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Thedesignation of the year 1954 as the Marian Year, offered these residents an opportunity to honour the occasion with theerection of shrines to the Blessed Virgin.

Committees styling themselves “Marian Shrine Committees” were formed in all new estates, with responsibilityfor the building of shrines. They drew their members from the residents of each estate. Mr. Jack Downey, Saint Mary’sPark, was credited as being the first to initiate such a project. The residents of Limerick’s housing schemes, drawn fromold close-knit neighbourhoods in the city and dispersed among “strangers” in their new environment found that thecommon enterprise of shrine construction drew people more closely together. It was the first evidence of a communi-ty spirit at work in the newly built suburbs. Committees in Ballinacurra Weston, Prospect, Fair Green, Sean HeustonPlace, Rathbane, Ballynanty Beg and Kileely were competing to produce the finest shrine from their limited resources.The absence of shrines in the wealthier areas of the city was and is still conspicuous.

The success of the efforts of communities in the Marian Year of 1954 prompted their continuation in 1955 and sub-sequent years. Shrine Committees were approached by “Coisde Lá Le Pádraig” an organisation with responsibility forarranging local celebrations during Saint Patrick’s week or Feile Pádraig. The shrines were used as a focal point forparades and other celebratory activities during the week and were exceeded in popularity only by the Saint Patrick’sDay parade itself. On every night of the week, in almost every area, the local committees carried out a most extensiveprogramme. Torch light processions and Irish nights, children’s and drama nights, band recitals, concerts, parades andcrossroad dancing were some of the events arranged for the week. All parades and processions were organised betweenshrines and prayer recitals and Holy Rosaries were held at the shrines. Large crowds of up to 2,000 people gathered toenjoy the events and established the shrines as a symbol of pride for each community. It is sad to think that the com-munity spirit so evident during the erection of the Shrines is slowly dwindling away in the modern more affluent era.

My memories of visits to the Marian Shrines coincided with visits to families and friends who lived in the partic-ular areas. No such visit with my aunt was complete without visiting the shrine and ‘saying a prayer’ there. The shrinesare now merely relics of a time when local pride and religious commitment went hand in hand. This book is a nostal-gic recall for people who lived through those times and a reminder to those who missed out.

TONY BROWNEHistorian

September 2004

NEVER before and certainly never since hadLimerick witnessed such a striking manifes-tation of faith when 15,000 marched in pro-

cession through the neatly decorated streets as amark of honour to the Mother of God in this MarianYear, The Limerick Leader recorded on Monday,June 28, 1954.

“Very fittingly,” the paper continued, “the citi-zens demonstrated their love for the Supreme Queenby the manifestations of faith and fervour. It wasappropriate at the conclusion that Most Rev. Dr.O’Hara, Papal Nuncio, the representative of HisHoliness, Pope Pius XII, should impart SolemnBenediction to the vast gathering in the AssemblyGround of the Redemptorist College where the clos-ing ceremonies were carried out.”

The report began with the Marian Year prayercomposed by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII: “You are allbeautiful, O Mary; You are the glory, you are the joy andyou are the honour of our people, Amen.”

The Limerick Leader wrote: “How aptly thesewords of the concluding portion of the Marian Yearprayer could be applied to yesterday’s great demon-stration of homage to the Holy Mother of God. Glorywas manifested in profusion and honour shown inabundance by over 15,000 men, women, boys andgirls, as they wended through the bedecked andbeflagged city streets reciting the Rosary and singinghymns in praise of the supreme Mother and Queen.The intermittent rain during the procession did notdampen the ardour of the members of the Arch-Confraternity of the Holy Family and those of OurLady of Perpetual Succour Confraternity under thespiritual direction of Rev. Fr. James Gormley, CSsR,and Rev. Fr. Sean O’Carroll, CSsR., respectively. Theshowers, heavy though at times, were no deterrent toall who marched with the resolve to honour and glo-rify a Queen assumed into heaven.

“How gladdened must have been the heart of theApostolic Nuncio, Most Rev. Dr. G. P. O’Hara, and ofthe Bishop of Limerick, Most Rev. Dr. P. O’Neill, asthey witnessed this great act of devotion in honour ofthis Marian Year. This great expression of faith wasindicative of a city that knew no bounds in its love forthe Blessed Virgin. By again giving convincing proofof its wonderful attachment to the Faith Limerickwas seen in its glorious heritage and traditional reli-gious setting. The memory of the edifying and order-ly processions and of the decorative beauty of the

streets and the grandness of the shrines, altars andwindows by the wayside will remain as bright as ajewel in the firmament of great civic events.

“The strength of the Faith could be gleaned, too,from the combined efforts of neighbours in many dis-tricts and of business people who lavishly decoratedtheir sectors for the great occasion. Streamers, ban-ners, bunting and other decorative materials werenot spared on the route. The Mother of God wasrevered in the windows of countless houses by neat-ly dressed shrines and altars with statues and pic-tures and in many cases illuminated by candles orfairy lights. Altars and shrines were also erected inmany streets, lanes and alleys far away from theroute of the procession. The same windows wereaglow last night in the same setting that had servedto regale the Queen of Heaven during the procession.The historic Treaty Stone provided a pedestal for a 20foot illuminated shrine. And the citizens rejoiced inprayer for well they could after a wonderful day offervour.

“Right on the stroke of 3.30 p.m. the members ofthe Redemptorist Church Choir, under the charge ofRev. Fr. John Torney, CSsR, in their special dress, ledthe huge procession from the Redemptorist CollegeAssembly field. Immediately behind came a horsedrawn car containing a large picture of Our Motherof Perpetual Succour formally surrounded withpaper drapery of blue and white. It was drawn bymen of St. John’s parish and flanked by a guard ofhonour of members of the Maritime Institute.Following them were the members of the Boys’Confraternity in rows of six each under the supervi-sion of Christian Brothers and teachers. The boysbehaved themselves in a manner that was distinctlycredible. Catholic Boy Scouts from the various citytroops under the command of Commissioner TimDaly, marched in this section while Knights of Malta,the Irish Red Cross and St. John’s Ambulance Brigadewere also represented throughout the long line ofprocessionists.”

The report continued: “The first of the sevendecorated vans from which a Redemptorist Fatherled the recitation of the Rosary and the singing ofhymns came next. Draped in the Papal colours, ithad a picture of Mary Immaculate, a large banner ofthe Mother of Perpetual Succour Confraternity andthe hymnal music was supplied by the SarsfieldFife and Drum Band followed by another Papal col-

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Massive manifestation of faithas more than 15,000 peopleparade through city streets

oured van with loud speaker apparatus. Nextbehind were the members of the women’s confra-ternity. A statue of St. Alphonsus with flowers atfoot, on a car dressed in green with white precededthe Limerick Pipe Band. Next was another van witha banner of St. George. The acolytes came after thewomen, then Our Lady of Victories was carried intriumph on a blue and white decorated car strewnwith bulbs and flowers. A guard of honour was pro-vided by officers of the Regular Army and behindthem marched the new Mayor of Limerick, Ald. G.E. Russell, and the City Manager and members ofthe Corporation in their robes.

“The junior division of the Arch Confraternitymarched in front of the members of the St. John’sDivision amongst whom was the Minister for Postsand Telegraphs, Mr. Michael Keyes, wearing hisjubilee ribbon and medal. The recital of the Rosaryin this sector was given from a van with the flag ofSt. Paul on it.

“The music was played by the St. John’s Brassand Reed Band while the St. Michael’s Fife andDrum Band followed in front of a large banner of St.Alphonsus which led the St. Michael’s Division. Ablue and white coloured van with a picture of St.Agnes preceded a hand drawn car with the statue ofthe Holy Family. The Boherbuoy Brass and ReedBand and another van bearing the picture of St.Michael were next in order and another guard of

honour – this time by members of the GardaSiochana – was accorded the much admired effigyof Our Lady of Graces in familiar white and bluedecorations. The St. Mary’s Fife and Drum Bandplayed for the St. Clement’s Division and the Rosarywas recited from two decorated vans placed at dif-ferent points. The entire procession took fifty min-utes to pass a given point.”

The Limerick Leader continued with a report fromthe Assembly point at the Redemptorist grounds:“As the procession had come to the end of its threeto four miles route the scene at the AssemblyGround of the Redemptorist College was an unfor-gettable blend of joy and edification. As the sunpeered through a grey, overcast sky – as if speciallydirected on the concourse – the cheering rent the airand the carillon of the Redemptorist belfry pealedjoyfully. It was the arrival of the Apostolic Nuncioand the Bishop of Limerick with the priests, bothsecular and regular. The Nuncio was escorted to thespecially erected altar by Very Rev. Fr. M. Curran,CSsR, Provincial, and Very Rev. Fr. G. Reynolds,CSsR, Rector. The Nuncio Cappa Magna was givena most warm hearted greeting as he walked throughthe cordon. Just previously, Master Tom Drennan,soloist of the Redemptorist Church Choir, had enter-tained with suitable songs and hymns.

A section of the huge throng that paraded through the city streets in June, 1954

“After the sacred host had been borne to thealtar, fronted by a large picture of the Mother ofPerpetual Succour, the clouds were threatening butsave for some drops of rain and windy gusts, sun-shine broke through to give a pleasantness to theclosing ceremony before an assembly of more than20,000 people.

“Very Rev. Curran, CSsR addressed the congre-gation over the loud speaker system and said therewas no need for him to introduce His Excellency, theApostolic Nuncio. It was his pleasure and duty towelcome him to that part of Limerick, Mount St.Alphonsus. ‘I do so from my heart’, he added, ‘inthe name of the community and in the name of themembers of the Arch Confraternity of the HolyFamily; the Arch Confraternity of Our Mother ofPerpetual Succour and St. Alphonsus. We are mostgrateful to His Excellency for coming to help us tohonour the Mother of God by this, our Marian Yearprocession in honour of the Mother of PerpetualSuccour’.”

The Apostolic Nuncio, rising to tumultuousapplause, said that in a very true sense there was noneed of a sermon on that occasion, certainly notfrom him or anyone there on the platform“because,” he went on, “my dearest brethren, youhave today preached a sermon far more eloquentthan anything I could say to you by this magnificentmanifestation of your love for the Mother of God.

Your presence here in such great numbers in thefield of Mount St. Alphonsus, after the processionthrough the streets of Limerick bearing statues ofOur Lady and the Saints, tells all who are here howdeep and how real is the love that is cherished inyour hearts for the Mother of Our Lord and Savour,Jesus Christ.”

His Excellency went on to say he was sure thattender and deep love for Our Lady would always beoutstanding in their devotional lives so that by it,they, the faithful of Limerick and all people ofIreland, may set a striking example that will be imi-tated by the entire Catholic world. If they ever hopeto reach heaven, as indeed, they hoped and prayedfervently, that they would one day have a place withGod among the saints in heaven they may be surethey will never attain that position without har-bouring the nourishment for soul and body attainedthrough the love for the Mother of God,” HisExcellency said.

“People who found themselves in the vices ofsin,” he continued, “ were in that position becausethey had never known what it was to have devotionto the Mother of God. If they trusted in the Motherof God there would be no need to worry in this life.That devotion and love was a sure guarantee thatthe life to come would be with God and those whohad recourse to her would have no great trouble inovercoming the temptations that beset them.

The Irish Army Officer Corps give the salute as Mayor Ted Russell and the City Council walk behind.

“Referring to the glorious reign of His HolinessPope Pius IX and his proclamation of the Dogma ofOur Lady the Nuncio said that the Holy Father hadasked the entire world to make the year particularlydedicated to honouring the Queen of Heaven. Hehad asked that the entire world pray for the specialintentions in this special year; and he had asked topray for himself so that he may always be faithful inthe discharge of the tremendous duties that was hisas head of the Church on earth. He had also askedto pray that the holiness and sanctity of life maygrow intense and deeper in the hearts of priests andreligious the world over. He had asked to pray dur-ing this Marian Year for an increase in vocations tothe holy priesthood and in religious life. He had

asked them to pray that Christian virtue may shinein every Catholic home so that fathers and mothersmay show their deeply Christian love of the virtuesof Christ.

“The Holy Father had also asked for prayers forthe silent Church behind the Iron Curtain wherethere were millions of Catholics includingCardinals, Bishops and priests and countless num-bers of laity, suffering in the foulest prisons of theworld because they had preferred to serve Godrather than Caesar – because they had chosen toremain loyal and true to the one great church ratherthan give up all that was good and holy. They askedthat the day of their deliverance may soon dawn.”

“LAST Sunday’s great proces-sion under the auspices of theArch-Confraternity of the HolyFamily and the ArchConfraternity of Our Lady ofPerpetual Succour held in hon-our of the Marian Year will beremembered as a shiningexample of Catholic faith,” theApostolic Nuncio ArchbishopO’Hara, said at the culmina-tion of the massive processionthat marched through thestreets of Limerick to theRedemptorist Grounds.One of the outstanding acts ofhomage to the Mother of Godduring the procession wasshown outside the RoyalGeorge Hotel. At this junctionthe Guard of Honour of offi-cers of the Regular Armyraised their swords in saluteto Our Lady of Victories whiletwo army buglers sounded theroyal saluteAmong those who marchedthe entire route was Mr. PatRoche, Verona Esplanade,Limerick, who was for a longnumber of years the painstak-ing and popular caretaker ofSt. Michael’s TemperanceSociety. Of the thousands whomarched Mr. Roche, at 88years of age is considered to

have been the oldest.Mr. Roche is quoted as sayingin the Limerick Leader that “Iwalked the whole way andwouldn’t have missed it foranything.”Mr Roche, who is 70 years amember of the ArchConfraternity, remembers veryclearly taking part in the ArchConfraternity procession toMungret during the term ofoffice of Rev. Fr. Walter Barry,CSsR, Spiritual Director in theyears, 1883 to 1885.While Mr. Roche was the old-est member to walk the walk,the oldest member in atten-dance at the assembly groundwas Mr. John Ryan, formergilder and picture frame-maker of Catherine Street,Limerick. “He is now nearly80 years a member of theConfraternity.“The number of women whotook part in the procession,”the Leader said, “exceeded allexpectations. It is conserva-tively estimated that close on5,000 women and girlsmarched.”The report also said that thegeneral success of the proces-sion was a tribute to theorganising efficiency of Rev.

Fr. Gormley, CSsR and Rev.Sean O’Carroll, CSsR and ofthe honorary secretaries of theArch Confraternity. They hadcountless matters to deal within the organising work butthey willingly tackled theirtask and had everything inorder before the processionstarted on its way and on time,at 3.30 p.m, the report contin-ued.The specially erected altar atthe Redemptorist Groundswas beautifully laid out. Theclosing ceremony was markedby the singing of Faith of OurFathers which was an “edify-ing phase of fidelity to theHoly See.”It was remarkable how theclouds, brimful of rain, stayedintact and sunshine peekedthrough during the ceremoniesat the Assembly Grounds.As His Excellency, Most RevDr. O’Hara, with mitre andcrozier, accompanied by HisLordship, Most Rev. Dr.O’Neill; Very Rev. M. Curran,CSsR, Provincial, and Rev. G.Reynolds, CSsR, Rector, retiredto the Monastery the crowdgave vent to their feelings by ahearty round of applause.

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The Redemptorist Field was filled to capacity for the final blessing and Mass at the end of the parade.

This picture amply portrays just how many people attended the Marian Year procession.

THE first Marian Year Shrine in the city wasunveiled and blessed by Rev. Canon P.J. Lee, onSunday, August 15 – the Feast of the Assumption

– in front of a huge throng of delighted and enthusiasticresidents.

The Limerick Leader of the following Monday carriedextensive on-the-spot coverage of the great occasion andreading through the report one can garner the sense ofpride and happiness that permeated throughout the entirearea.

The Limerick Leader began: “Yesterday was a dayof signal rejoicing in St. Mary’s Park. With theunveiling and blessing of a statue of Our Lady in thebeautifully laid out Grotto at the entrance to thePark, the great Feast of the Assumption and theParish was marked in a memorable way, and theMarian Year was commemorated fittingly. Theentire housing estate was appropriately and taste-fully decorated.

“A very striking example of the advance forgood that voluntary effort by a community groupcan do was illustrated in St. Mary’ Park, Limerick,yesterday. It is not so long ago since a number ofmen together imbued with the spirit to improve

conditions in that area put togehter a plan. It mightbe described rightly as a Parish Plan. Their workwas to have the guiding hand of Our Lady behindit. So number one item on their programme was totransform a parcel of waste land into a delightfulgrotto and how amazingly well they accomplishedit. Very appropriately the culmination of their firsteffort coincided with the Feast of the Assumption –the Feast of St. Mary’s Parish. On the fringe of thePark yesterday gathered a vast number of citizens towitness an impressive and history-making ceremo-ny – the unveiling and blessing of the statue of theImmaculate Conception, standing majestically inthe midst of a grotto that will serve a lasting com-memoration of the Marian Year.

“It is a most attractive grotto. Inscribed in goldlettering on the pedestal on which the statue standsare the words: “In Onoir blianna Maighdine Mhuire,1954.” A neat silver painted railing enclosed theshrine which has a rock garden background – adelightful lay-out. The honour of performing theceremony of unveiling and blessing was bestowedon the popular and revered Parish Priest, Very Rev.P. J. Canon Lee.

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First Marian Shrine is blessed in St. Mary’s Park

Very Rev. Canon Lee performs the official blessing of the Shrine at St. Mary’s Park watched by a tumultuous throng.

“The residents of the Park gave vent to theirfeelings of great joy on what was for them a mem-orable occasion by making the most elaboratepreparations for the celebration of their historic dayand marking the end of the first chapter in theirParish Plan. When an outsider visits such places asSt. Mary’s Park he cannot but feel deeplyimpressed by the Faith of the people. Every housein the Park which has a population of 2,800 wasdecorated. It was obvious that a number of peoplewere not endowed with the world’s riches, but anunflinching faith is the great treasure of these peo-ple and they showed it unmistakably by their con-tribution to the general scheme of decoration.Sacred pictures were hung from some windows,shrines appeared in others; grottos were erectedoutside some houses while streamers, banners,bunting and carefully planted shrubs all tended tomake the occasion one of signal importance andjoy. The houses, painted recently on the outside,added another touch of beauty and in every way St.Mary’s Park was proudly looking its best.”

The report continued: “Last night the Park pre-sented a most imposing sight with its multi-coloured illumination – a grand finale to a greatoccasion.

“Adjacent to the grotto streamers spanned St.Ita Street bearing such salutations as “Hail Mary,Full of Grace,” “Mother of God, Pray For Us,” and“Strengthen the Faith Redeemer” Guard Us whenDanger is Nigh.” The good people of the Park had,by their weekly contributions, with the assistanceof generous help from outside, made the lavishscheme of decoration possible. They can feel morethan very well satisfied that their efforts won the

highest praise of all those who had the pleasure ofvisiting their territory yesterday.

“The residents gave a hearty greeting to VeryRev. Canon Lee and Rev. Fr. Gormley, SpiritualDirector of the Arch-Confraternity of the HolyFamily when they entered the enclosed shrine fol-lowing the conclusion of the procession from theParish Church where earlier that day the Feast ofthe Parish had been celebrated. A special round ofhand-clapping was also reserved for Mr. JackDowney, St. Ita Street, a holder of a diploma insocial and economic science. Mr. Downey was oneof the originators of this Parish Plan but for someweeks past he had been confined to BarringtonsHospital with injuries to his feet. It was a proudday for him to be back among his colleagues evenif only for that day to witness the first fruit of theirlabours receiving the blessing of their esteemedpastor. Subsequent to the ceremony, Mr. Downeyreturned to hospital gladdened, however, that hehad been there to join in the festival occasion.

“The procession from St. Mary’s Church to theGrotto started at 2.30 p.m. and was led by acolytesfollowed by the St. Mary’s CBS Band under theconduction of Rev. Brother White. Participating inthe procession were St. Mary’s Troop of CatholicBoy Scouts, the children of the Parish and OurLady’s Holy Family Confraternity. Other bandswhich marched to the Grotto were St. Mary’s Fifeand Drum Band, Sarsfield Fife and Drum Band, St.John’s Brass and Reed Band and the BoherbuoyBrass and Reed Band. Members of the LimerickCorporation who attended were the Mayor, Ald. G.E. Russell; Senator James Reidy, Ald. J. Carew, and

Members of St. Mary’s Band watch as final preparations for the blessing of the Shrine are put in place.

Councillers G. B. Dillon, K. Bradshaw, J. J. Connery,S. Coughlan and J. Finan. Clergy also present inaddition to those already mentioned were Rev. F.Houlihan, CC, and Rev. F. Connolly, CSsR., whopreached the special sermon for the Feast of theParish celebrated earlier in St. Mary’s Church. Mr.John Reynolds, chairman of the St. Mary’s ParkDevelopment Committee, addressing the assemblywelcomed the guests and the people of the Parish. “Iwish to publicly acknowledge and thank all thosegenerous and kind-hearted people who in any way,by subscription or gift, helped to bring our project toits successful conclusion.

“We especially thank the City Manager Mr.Macken for giving us the site; the donors of the beau-tiful statue who wish to remain anonymous; thedonor of the Scotch Granite pedestal, Mr. T. F.O’Sullivan, B.E., Harbour Engineer; the donor of theartistic railings and gates, Mr. P. Molloy, builder, andto Mr. J. O’Donnell for the use of his engineeringworks and equipment; also the people of the parishfor their generous weekly contribution. I also wish topay tribute to the designer and to the gallant band ofworkers who laboured night after night to completethis shrine in honour of Our Blessed Mother Mary.”

Addressing those present Canon Lee spoke of hisdelight at being asked to unveil the Marian YearStatue. “About six months ago,” he continued, “thepeople of the development committee decided thatthey would form a committee from the differentstreets in the estate and push forward with the nec-

essary improvements in the estate. To their credittheir first idea on their programme was to build ashrine to Our Lady at the entrance to St. Mary’s Parkin honour of the Marian Year.”

He was sceptical, he said, but we can see for our-selves what these men have done. They had workednight and day for the past three months and hadturned a dumping ground into a lovely Marian YearGrotto. They had received wonderful co-operationfrom the City Manager and members of theCorporation, from a number of firms in the city andfrom various householders and other individuals inand outside the parish. They all co-operated with thecommittee in doing the work nobly and well. Thatwas only number one item on their programme andunless he was mistaken he would say that within ayear or two St. Mary’s Park will be a model amongthe housing estates in Limerick,” he said.

Canon Lee paid a special tribute to Mr. JackDowney who, he said, had been prevented throughinjury from being among them for the past fewmonths. He was with them today and they wel-comed him back. “It is a proud day for him,” contin-ued the Canon, “and I feel that when he arrived thismorning he was surprised with the progress thathad been made during his absence.” The Canon con-cluded by saying that he was proud of the parish,proud to be your Parish Priest – you have risennobly to the occasion and, if I may use a phrase, St.Mary’s Parish is now on the map.”

Opening of St. Mary’s Park Marian Shrine, 1954. Back row: P. Reynolds, P. O’Shaughnessy, W. McCarthy, M. Roche, M. Moran, P. McNamara,M. O’Donoghue, W. Woodland, P. Braddish, D. O’Neill, S. Williams, F. O’Connell, C. O’Donoghue, D. Frawley, M. Phayer. Centre: --?, M.Finnan, M. O’Shaughnessy, C. Ronan, C. Howard, M. O’Donnell, PJ Duggan, J. Bray, T. O’Callaghan, J. Fitzgerald, F. McNamara, M. Troy, J.Reynolds, J. Johnson, P. Tobin, J. English, J. Hickey. Seated: W. O’Shaughnessy, M. Fitzpatrick, P. O’Callaghan, M. O’Farrell, M. Moffatt, J.Downey, M. Griffin, C. Cahill, J. O’Donoghue, J. Bibby, C. Storan. Many thanks to Pat Kirwin for his efforts in getting all thee people named.

Canon Lee then unveiled and blessed the statuewhile a bugler attached to the St. Mary’s Troop ofCBSI sounded the salute and all joined in the singingof the familiar Lourdes hymn.

Rev. Fr. Gormley, CSsR, said he was delighted tobe associated with the history making ceremony andhe thought it fitting that “St. Mary’s Parish should bethe first to set the lead for the rest of Limerick. Therewas no parish that had such a strong love for devo-tion to the Mother of God as the Parish of St. Mary.”

Fr. Gormley continued that St. Mary’s Park wasthe first big housing scheme carried out by theLimerick City Corporation 17 or 18 years ago and itwas only right and proper that St. Mary’s Parkshould give the lead to the younger housingschemes.

Ald Ted Russell, Mayor of Limerick said that“this day had put St. Mary’s Park on the map”, and,he continued “it took the Island Field off the map.”

He said: “I could well believe that the energeticdevelopment committee had many more items onthe agenda and we in the Corporation would givethem every possible support to continue their goodwork. I know that there are people in the Park thatare going through difficult times but I know that thiswork of theirs – an example of what they had thatday – was to them a labour of love.”

Each band played hymnal music during the clos-ing ceremony which was crowned by the recitationof the Rosary by Fr. Houlihan for the intentions of allthose who in any way contributed to the erection ofthe grotto. A Decade of the Rosary was speciallyrecited for the anonymous donor of the Statue.Afterwards Canon Lee recited the Marian YearPrayer and the edifying ceremony closed with thesinging of “Faith of our Fathers.”

‘Let Limerick Lead’Letter to the Editor, Monday, August 30, 1954

“While the citizens look with pride and joy on theefforts of the residents of St. Mary’s Park, BallynantyBeg, Prospect, etc., in their task of erecting statues ofOur Lady to commemorate the Marian Year, it mustbe remembered that the large majority of Mary’s sonsand daughters in Limerick do not reside inCorporation housing schemes and therefore cannotjoin in this glorious work.

“Before the Marian Year draws to a close I wouldlike to make the following suggestion. At the entranceto Clare Street there is a magnificent triangular flowerpatch, beautifully planted by the Corporation HeadGardener, Mr. Kennedy. What would be more fittingthan to erect a statue of Our Lady of Limerick on thissite which stands on the principle entrance to ourbeloved city?

“A special collection outside the city churches onone or two Sundays would more than cover the costand perhaps with a little planning the image could beilluminated at night.

“Astranger approaching out city on a winter’s nightand being greeted by this shining figure of the Queenof Heaven, would, no doubt, be assured of the warmChristian welcome that awaited him in our midst.”The letter was signed

“LET LIMERICK LEAD”

An injured Mr. Jack Downey is carried to the Shrine by Terry O’Shea, left, and Willie McCarthy.

OVER 3,000 people attended the unveilingand blessing of the Marian Shrine by RightRev. Monsignor Moloney, PP, VF, at

Ballynanty Beg, yesterday,” wrote the LimerickLeader on Monday, November 1, 1954.

The report continued: “The lovely Shrine hasbeen constructed by the people of Ballynanty byvoluntary labour through voluntary subscription. Ittook over four months to complete.

“Ballynanty Beg was en fete yesterday for theunveiling and blessing of the lovely Marian Shrinesituated on a prominence at the entrance to

Limerick’s biggest housing estate.“Started four months ago, the Shrine was com-

pleted late on Saturday night under floodlightingand was the climax of many weeks arduous work.The work was carried out entirely by the residentsand subscriptions towards the project were confinedto the housing estate.

“The Shrine which was made in Italy , cost £150and is surrounded by an illuminated halo and con-tains the simple inscription ‘Erected in honour ofOur Lady to commemorate the Marian Year.’

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Ballynanty Shrine is blessed by Rev. Mgs. Moloney

Ballynanty Shrine Committee: Back, Paddy Hanly, James Collins, John Liddy, Jim Moore, Eddie Mooney, Paddy Wallace, Paddy Quaid, TomMoloney, Jim Hayes, John Quinn (later to become Mayor of Limerick), Paddy Grimes, hon. treasurer; --?, Pat McLoughlin, hon. secretary;. Sitting:Frank Kenihan, Ger O’Mara, Jack Symington, Rev. Fr. Gerard Neville, CC; John Halloran, chairman; John Henry, Alex Goodwin, Gerald Ryanand Willie Ahern.

“

“The entrance to the Shrine is through a cut-stone archway designed along Gothic lines with asanded pathway, flanked by flower beds leading tothe Shrine itself. Floodlighting has also beeninstalled.

“The whole housing estate was gay withbunting, streamers containing pious invocations,national and Papal colours. Practically every win-dow contained a miniature shrine appropriatelyilluminated. The pedestal work of the Shrine wascarried out by Messrs. J. Kennedy and JosephMcMahon, while the archway was built by Mr. J.Ryan,” the Leader wrote.

The report continued: “At 3 o’c a processioncomprised of St. Munchin’s Women’s Confraternity,St. Lelia’s and St. Munchin’s Primary Schools, St.Mary’s Troop of Boy Scouts, St. John’s AmbulanceBrigade, Knights of Malta, Irish Red Cross Societyand St. John’s Brass and Reed Band and theLimerick Pipe Band left St. Munchin’s Church andproceeded to the shrine. The procession was headedby the acolytes of St. Munchin’s Church. Membersof the Limerick Corporation and the Mayor, Ald. G.E. Russell, also walked in the procession with Rt.Rev. Mgr. Moloney and Rev. Fr. M. J. Neville, CC,St. Munchin’s, who is also chairman of the MarianShrine committee. The rosary was recited en routeand sacred hymns were sung at intervals. It was animpressive and edifying sight.

“On arrival at the Shrine,” the paper continued,“Mgr. Moloney, the Mayor and Corporation andmembers of the Committee with Rev. JamesGormley, CSsR, Spiritual Director of the ArchConfraternity of the Holy Family were conveyed to

a specially erected platform where Mr. J.O’Halloran, vice-chairman in a short addressthanked them for their presence and said the peopleof Ballynanty Beg felt deeply honoured and proudof the occasion. They pledged their loyalty to theirHoly Mother the Church and asked the clergy toaccept the Shrine as a pledge of that loyalty and ofcontinued devotion to the Mother of God. Hethanked the voluntary workers, the committee andthe collectors and especially the women ofBallynanty Beg, without whose valued help theShrine could not have been made possible.

“The Mayor, who received a very cordial ova-tion, said it gave him great pleasure and he feltdeeply honoured to be present at the blessing andunveiling of such a magnificent shrine,” the reportconcluded.

“Some weeks ago, Mr. Russell said, “I was pres-ent at a similar ceremony in St. Mary’s Park and onthat occasion I expressed the hope that the people ofother housing schemes would follow the exampleset by the residents of St. Mary’s Park. I am gladtherefore to see that the people of Ballynanty Beghave raised this magnificent contribution to thememory of Our Lady in the form of a lovely marblestatue. But your work here will not be completedunless you carry the image of Our Lady into yourhomes and hearts and into the hearts of your chil-dren. On my own behalf and on behalf of the CityManager and the members of the LimerickCorporation I extend sincere congratulations to thecommittee and people of Ballynanty Beg for thewonderful job they have done,” he said.

The huge gathering surround the Ballynanty statue prior to the blessing ceremony. Picture: BILL HAYES

In conclusion, the Mayor said that Limerick in itsown way had always a special devotion to OurLady and he expressed the hope that that devotionwould be further strengthened by their striving toreach her perfection in their daily lives. Rev. Fr.James Gormley, CSsR, Spiritual Director of the ArchConfraternity of the Holy Family, said he did notexpect that he would have the honour and privilegeof addressing them on such an auspicious occasion.What the people of Ballynanty Beg were doing thatday was only marking the continued devotion of thepeople of Limerick to the Mother of God. The Statueof Our Lady of Limerick was one of traditionaldevotion by the people of Limerick. Their choice ofthat day was a very suitable one because at that verymoment in Rome, His Holiness Pope Paul XII, wasproclaiming the liturgical Feast of the Queenship ofMary while they in Ballynanty Beg were also pledg-ing their loyalty to Mary Queen of their Hearts andHomes, by perpetuating her memory by the erec-tion of such a beautiful shrine.

Concluding, Fr. Gormley exhorted the people tokeep Mary in their hearts and homes at all times. Bydoing so, they would have the blessing of theMother of God throughout their lives.

Right Rev. Mgr. Moloney said it was a proud dayfor the people of Ballynanty Beg. They had set up alovely Lady to watch over them at the gates of theircity as she watched over the gates of heaven.Limerick was the first centre in Ireland to dedicateit’s cathedral to the Mother of God and they werevery proud of that memory of 800 years ago.

“As you pass this Shrine on your way to Mass in

St. Munchin’s Church,” he said, “and on your wayto and from work she will be watching over you andby praying to her as you pass she will help to easethe burden on your shoulders. She will watch overyour children while at play and in the new schoolwhich will shortly be erected near here. The boyswill be receiving instruction from the ChristianBrothers before another year is out. Thank God thatthe Brothers are such a fine body of men who have,for over 100 years, left their spiritual mark inLimerick. Before long more there will also be aschool erected for the girls.

“Therefore you can see,” he continued, “that wewere thinking of you long before you came to us.We must work together and learn that we are onepeople and one community. This lovely statue is areflection of your generosity and of your devotionto the Mother of God.”

Monsignor Moloney formally unveiled andblessed the statue to the strains of “Hail Queen ofHeaven” in which the thousands present devoutlyjoined. Fr. MJ Neville recited the Rosary and the cer-emony ended with the singing of “Faith of ourFathers.”

The members of the committee as appeared inthe Limerick Leader were: Rev. Fr. Neville, CC, chair-man; Mr. J. O’Halloran, vice-chairman; Mr. P.McLoughlin, secretary; Mr. P. Grimes, treasurer;Messrs. P. Quaid, P. O’Loughlin, W. Aherne, J.Symington, A. Goodwin, G. O’Mara, E. Mooney, P.Hanley, J. Collins, P. Moloney, J. Henry, F. Kenihan,P. Murphy, K. Liddy, J. Walters, J. Pigott.

Crowds are congregating for the opening and blessing of the Ballynanty Shrine

Altar servers, Knights of Malta and the residents of Ballynanty march in procession prior to the opening.

Huge crowds attended the opening and blessing of the Ballynanty Shrine.

His Lordship, the Bishop of Limerick, MostRev. Dr. O’Neill, unveiled and blessed aMarian Shrine at Prospect yesterday

before an attendance of over 2,000 people,” theLimerick Leader wrote in its Lead Article on Monday,November 29, 1954.

“The Mayor, Ald. G. E. Russell, and members ofthe Limerick Corporation attended the ceremony,”the paper continued.

In another lengthy report, the Leader wrote:“Four months of arduous work on the building ofthe Marian Shrine at Prospect was brought to a fit-ting and most inspiring cli-max yesterday afternoonwhen His Lordship, theBishop of Limerick, Most Rev.Dr. O’Neill unveiled andblessed the lovely MarianShrine of Our Lady of theImmaculate Conception.

Prior to the ceremony aprocession was formed at St.Joseph’s Church consisting ofschool children carrying ban-ners and adults of the district,led by the acolytes of St.Joseph’s Church, followed bythe Redemptorist boys choirand the Boherbuoy and theLimerick Pipe Bands. TheVery Rev. Fr. White, Adm.,and parochial clergy alongwith the Rev. Fr. Gormley,CSsR, Spiritual Director of theConfraternity, were also inattendance. The route was decorated with bunting,Papal and national flags and banners containingpious supplications. Nearly every house in the dis-trict displayed miniature shrines in their windows.

“The Shrine itself is a most elaborate affair andconsists of a rockery and plinth on top of which reststhe 6 ft. high statue with an illuminated halo. Theshrine is fenced off with pillars and wire mesh.There are four entrances to the Shrine through cut-stone gateways and concrete paths lead direct to thestatue. Rose trees are planted in specially preparedbeds at each corner. The shrine is also flood-lit. HisLordship was assisted by Very Rev. Fr. White at theceremony. The other clergy in attendance were Rev.Fathers, O’Sullivan, CC; O’Donnell, CC; Manning,CC. The Redemptorist choir was in the charge ofRev. Fr. Torney, CSsR.

“During the unveiling ceremony the specialMarian Salute was sounded by members of theBoherbuoy Band and the national and Papal flagswere unfurled. The Redemptorist choir sang hymnsappropriate to the occasion,” the Leader wrote.

The chairman of the Shrine committee, Mr. P.Walsh, speaking from a specially erected platformsaid “the people of the district felt deeply honouredby the presence of their beloved Bishop, the clergy,His Worship, the Mayor and members of theCorporation.”

It was, he said, “a day of great joy for the peopleof Prospect who took the oppor-tunity of renewing their pledgeof loyalty to the Blessed Mother,the Church and the BlessedVirgin. The erection of theshrine was an outward expres-sion of the love which they feltfor the Mother of God and trust-ed that it would be a true andlasting monument of theirlove.”

He thanked the voluntaryworkers who gave their time sounselfishly to build the shrine,the private and public sub-scribers and the women collec-tors. He paid a special tribute tothe hard working secretary andtreasurer of the committee, bothof whom had handled their dif-ficult tasks in a very competentmanner. When they lookedaround them that day they

could be happy in the knowledge that their labourwas work well done, Mr. Walsh concluded.

The Mayor of Limerick, Ald. G. E. Russell saidthat on his own and on behalf of the members of theLimerick Corporation he wished to express his deepappreciation to the committee and people ofProspect for giving them an opportunity of beingpresent at the unveiling of the magnificent gestureto Our Lady. He also wished to avail of the occasionto convey the warmest congratulations of the CityCouncil to the committee and workmen of Prospectwho put so much hard work into building the mag-nificent monument. Each and every one deservedthe heartiest congratulations for carrying out such alabour of love and he felt privileged to be presentthat afternoon.” the Mayor said.

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Dr. O’Neill unveils Prospect Shrine

“

Although, the Mayor continued, Marian statueshad been erected in other centres throughout thecountry, Limerick had, in this year of Our Lady,excelled any other city. The people of Prospect hadlived up to Limerick’s noble tradition of devotion toOur Lady. Though the shrine had been finished itwas really only beginning the real task of theirdevotion to the Mother of God. As Mayor of the Cityhe could say that the City Council took a specialpride in the Prospect housing scheme, which linkedthe old and the new and they were sure that the peo-ple of Prospect would make it an example to thewhole city,” he concluded to rapturous applause.

His Lordship, the Bishop, who received a warmovation, said he had “listened to a sermon thatmorning in which references were made to happen-ings in China where Red Rule prevailed in thatcountry. He had heard about priests, nuns andbrothers who had laboured for many years in edu-cating, dressing and nourishing children there. Thechildren were reared up in the knowledge of faithand they were taught devotion to the Blessed VirginMary under Christian preaching. WhenCommunism took charge a judge was sitting injudgement. He was told about the devotion of thechildren to the Blessed Virgin Mother of God andthe judge said: ‘Who is this woman who is listeningto our parliament and challenging the power of theRed Army?’ The answer was before them that day in

the Statue of Our Lady, Mother of God, Queen ofHeaven.”

He continued: “It is a proud moment for me tocome along to you to unveil and bless this statue. Bythe erection of this statue you gain God’s blessingand place yourself under the special protection ofOur Lady, Queen of Heaven to whom our HolyFather the Pope has just proclaimed a new Feast ofthe Queenship of Heaven. You have reached a cli-max of your labour by erecting this memorial in hon-

Two young children admire the Shrine in Prospect just prior to the official opening in November, 1954.

A souvenir picture and prayer was presented to all the committeemembers who helped build the Shrine in Prospect.

our of the Blessed Virgin. It is your special way ofshowing your devotion to Mary and the splendidfaith that inspired you to erect it. I am sure yourwork will reach to Our Lady in heaven and she will,I am sure, spread her mantle over you and yourfamilies and who will watch over you as she hasalways watched over the people of our country whohad devoted their lives to her. You will treasure thisday in your memory and, I am sure, you will proveyour love of Our Lady by making a perfect exampleof your devotion to the Mother of God. It will trav-el heavenwards to her feet,” His Lordship conclud-ed.

There was a touching incident shortly after theunveiling ceremony when eight-year-old MiriamDonnelly, 44 Prospect Villas, approached the shrine

in a white dress and veil and laid a bouquet of flow-ers at the feet of the statue and said a short prayer.

The ceremony concluded with the singing of“Faith of Our Fathers” in which all present joined.In the evening the Rosary was recited and a splen-did crowd participated.

“The Rosary will be said before the Shrine eachevening until the end of the Marian Year,” the reportconcluded.

The officers and committee that built the Shrinewere Mr. P. Walsh, chairman; Mr. R. Lynn, vice-chairman; Mrs. H. O’Neill, secretary; Mrs. F.Cowhey, treasurer. Messrs. T. Mullane, T. Sherlock,P. Buckley, F. Cowhey, H. O’Neill, G. Barnaby, M.Lyons, P. O’Brien, A. Neilan, E. Carey, J. Dawson, M.Daly, M. McCarthy, Mrs. J. Dawson, Mr. D. Cowhey.

A side view of the new shrine in Prospect.

The site is being prepared

Prospect Marian Shrine committee, 1954: Back, Danny Clancy, Henry O’Neill, Jim O’Rahilly, Ger Lynn, Mick Lyons, TomSherlock, Paddy Buckley, Mike McCarthy, Tim Mullane, Joe Dawson, Desmond Cowhey. Middle row: Joe O’Brien, PaddyO’Brien, Pat Hayes, Ger Lynch, Billy Lloyd, Tom McNamara, Bob Lynn, George Barnaby, Tony Manning. Seated: Michael Daly,Eamon Carey, Frank and Mary Cowhey, Kathleen Mullane, Patrick Walsh, chairman; Moyra Dawson, Rita O’Neill, MollyO’Brien. The Communion Girl is Miriam Donnelly who laid a bouquet of flowers at the foot of the Shrine after the blessing.

Most Rev. Dr. O’Neill, Bishop of Limerick, leaves the Prospect Shrine after the blessing watched by huge crowds

Frank and Mary Cowhey, who live at 21Prospect Villas kept a personal diary of thebuilding of the Shrine in Prospect. It is adelightful chronicle of the events leading up tothe building and completion of the Shrine inNovember 1954. For thirty years they kept itup to date and reprinted here are just some oftheir reminiscences.

ON a morning in July, in the Marian Year of1954, the idea of an outdoor Shrine to honourour Blessed Lady was the topic of conversa-

tion in Prospect Villas. The choice of a site was aneasy one as the houses faced what had once been abeautiful green area, surrounded by shady treeswhere many a game was played, and many a friend-ly tale was told, bringing joy to young and old alike.With the expansion of the city the area quicklybecame a rough and very muddy “roadway” withlorries and pedestrians, prams and bicycles crossingfrom one side to the other. Eventually only one of

the many beautiful trees remained and the grass car-pet was long ruined. Permission was sought fromthe Corporation to build the Shrine in that area butfirst money was needed and so a house to housecanvass was made by the ladies of the district withregard to weekly collections. The collectors werewell received, permission was granted by theCorporation and the local men came forward to dothe job which was completely voluntary and as anact of love for Our Lady. The task was tremendous,but night after night with bad weather and the darknights of winter quickly descending, the faithfulfew persevered, although most had no previousknowledge of this type of work.

In the meantime the lady collectors worked hardand a raffle organised by them was very successful.Quotations for statues were obtained from manyparts of Ireland, and the committee decided to placetheir order with the Early Studios in Dublin for thevery beautiful statue of Mary Immaculate. Themodel for this statue was made in Italy for theDublin firm and so was unique to them. The halo of12 stars was also purchased through Earleys.

The building of Prospect ShrineAA PPEERRSSOONNAALL DDIIAARRYY

By FFRRAANNKK aanndd MMAARRYY CCOOWWHHEEYY

Local children march through Prospect Villas and Kickham Avenue prior to the opening

In planning the shrine it was decided that thestatue would rest on a rockery in the centre of thegreen and a search was started for suitable stonewhich were eventually drawn from the grounds ofDromore Castle. The cut stone for the pillars of themain gate were obtained from an old estate inSixmilebridge and erected by Mr. Flynn of ByrneAvenue. Dan Ryan from Kickham Avenue made thecaps for the pillars to match the main gate whichwas made and presented to the committee by DaveBenson.

And so things continued until at last the greatlabour of love was completed and a great joy andhappiness filled the hearts of all when, onNovember 28, His Lordship the Bishop, Most Rev.Dr. O’Neill unveiled and blessed the statue of MaryImmaculate.

“May she ever smile lovingly on the people ofthe district and always reign in the hearts of those

who have enthroned her in their midst and in theirminds,” the Cowheys wrote at the time.

Dotted amongst the rocks were little blue andwhite lamps with the flickering night lights whichwere continuously presented by many people andwhich were for their intentions.

The committee, collectors and workers were: Mr.P. Walsh, Mr. R. Lynn, Mr. P. Buckley, Mr. T.Sherlock, Mr. T. Mullane, Mr. J. O’Rahilly, Mr. A.O’Neill, Mr. F. Cowhey, Mr. G. Barnaby, Mr. P.O’Brien, Mr. M. Daly, Mr. E. Carey, Mr. J. Dawson,Mr. M. McCarthy, Mr. A. Nelian, Mr. M. Lyons, Mr.D. Cowhey, Mr. G. Lynn, Mr. D. Clancy, Mr. G.Patterson, Mr. G. Loughhart, Mr. J. O’Brien, Mr. J.Lynch, Mrs. H. O’Neill, Mrs. K. Mullane, Mrs. M.Dawson, Mrs. M. Cowhey, Mrs. E. Carey, Mrs.Quigley, Mrs. Ryan, Mrs. Benson, Miss G. O’Neill,Mrs. O’Halloran.

First Holy Communion children file past the sacred image in Prospect

We’ve made a Shrine to Mary,The Mother of our God,The Virgin of all Virgins,Of David’s Royal Blood.

As around her feet we gather,Our aim will always be,To pay her public homageAnd say her Rosary.

Oh Lady of the ValleyOh Sweet Immaculate OneWe ask you, most sincerelyTo lead us to your Son.

So teach us holy Mary,When kneeling at your Shrine,To imitate your virtuesAnd win His love, through Thine.

1974: Last entry in their diary – Each year duringthe month of May a beautiful procession in honourof Our Lady took place with Benediction of the

Blessed Sacrament at an altar in the Shrine. The areathen became part of the Parish of Our Lady ofLourdes and a parish procession was held, startingat the shrine and ending with Benediction in thechurch.

“Sadly, the processions have not since been held,leaving all with a deep sense of loss,” the Cowheyswrote in 1974.

Today, Sean O’Neill does trojan work in keepingthe Shrine looking in pristine condition.

Frank and Mary remember that the posts sur-rounding the Shrine were made from a mould sup-plied by the Corporation but the know-how of mak-ing them came from two great men of St. Mary’s –Murty King who was full back on the YoungMunster team to win the Bateman Cup and the leg-endary Bansha Hayes of Garryowen fame. All theposts were made at the gable end of No. 21 ProspectVillas.

When the wire surrounding the Shrine neededreplacement some years later Earls Wire of the DockRoad presented the committee with enough rolls tocompletely replace the old.

Crowds enjoy the spectacle at the blessing of the Prospect shrine.

The Dominican Church was packed to capacity on Monday, November 2, 1954, for the special crowning of Our Lady of Limerick with a pre-cious crown of gold, diamonds and pearls donated by the people of Limerick.The above picture shows Our Lady of Limerick wearing a replicacrown. On very special occasions the original is taken out and placed in the head of Limerick’s favourite Mother.

❏ Picture: MICHAEL COWHEY

LIMERICK’S fidelity to the Queen of Heavenwas expressed in full measure in theDominican Church on Monday night last

when His Lordship, the Bishop of Limerick, MostRev. Dr. P. O’Neill, placed a precious crown of gold,diamonds and pearls on the ancient statue of OurLady of Limerick,” wrote the Limerick Leader onWednesday, November 3, 1954.

The report continued: “This symbolic act ofhomage was indicative again of Limerick’s love ofthe heavenly Queen and it served once more asanother gesture from the citizens during this his-toric Marian Year.

“Thousands of people filed past the familiarstatue of Our Lady of Limerick in veneration in theDominican Church on Monday night last after hisLordship, the Bishop of Limerick placed a preciousgold crown adorned with diamonds, pearls, rubiesand emeralds on it. It was a practical demonstrationof the deep sense of loyalty to the ImmaculateQueen that is so much part of the Irish way of life.

“Devotees in the city of Our Lady of Limerick setout from their homes as early as 5.30 p.m. in orderto be sure of a place in the neatly decorated churchto witness the historic crowning ceremony begin-ning at 8 p.m. The enthusiasm of the people was sogreat that the church was filled to capacity withinfive minutes. Many others who failed to gain admis-sion followed a relay of the ceremony over the loud-speaker system. And as the Catholic world rejoiced

that day over the Holy Father’s proclamation of theFeast of the Queenship of Mary and the crowning ofher image, so, too, did the people of Limerick regalethe wonderful events in Rome and climax themwith further pride by the crowning of the oakenstatue of Our Lady of Limerick which has been inthe city for over three centuries.

“For this special occasion the statue was movedto a position on the Epistle side of the high altar.Decorated with flowers and candles the beauty ofthe statue stood out in further elegant repose afterthe Bishop had placed the crown on the head. Theglistening crown reflected the beauty of the thoughtthat inspired Limerick-born Prior, Very Rev. P. L.O’Sullivan, OP, to make possible this great act ofhomage during the Marian Year.”

For months, the Leader reported “rich and pooralike had made their way to the priory with theirgold and diamond treasures. Many rings of variouskinds of high sentimental value were donated witha generosity indicative of Limerick’s traditional lovefor the Immaculate Conception.”

The rich donors, the Leader wrote “mingled withthe poor ones in that vast congregation on Mondaynight. Their warmth of feeling towards having OurLady of Limerick crowned during the Marian Yearwas also exemplified when a spontaneous ‘oh’ ofadmiration went up from the congregation in har-mony with the simultaneous crowning of the statueby His Lordship.”

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Our Lady of Limerick is crownedat the Dominicans

“

The delicate and ornate crown presented by the peopleof Limerick to Our Lady of Limerick in 1954. My thanksto Rev. Fr. Brennan, Prior, and to Bro. James, of theDominican Order, for permission to photograph thecrown

Among the congregation who witnessed thishistoric act by the Bishop were Right Rev.Monsignor M. Moloney, PP, VF, St. Munchin’s; VeryRev. W. O’Grady, Adm., St. John’s; Very Rev. Dr. J.Cowpar, PP, St. Patrick’s Rev. R. O’Sullivan, CC, St.Michael’s; Very Rev. M. Curran, CSsR, Provincial,Mount St. Alphonsus; Very Rev. G. Reynolds, CSsR,Rector; Rev. Fr. Raphael, OFM, Limerick; Rev. Fr. G.Hayes and the members of the DominicanCommunity.

The Bishop was assisted at the throne by VeryRev. A. Byrnes, OP, Prior, Tralee, who was alsoDeacon at the Benediction Service, and Very Rev. H.O’Neill, OP, Prior, Sligo who was sub-deacon.

Among the laity were Mr. M. J. Keyes, TD,Minister for Posts and Telegraphs; the Mayor, Ald.GE Russell and members of the Corporation in theirscarlet robes; Mr. M. Macken, BA, City Manager; Mr.J. McHugh, Assistant Town Clerk; Mr. T. Collery,City Accountant; Mr. John J. Dundon, MRCVS; Mr.J. Dundon, Law Adviser; Mr. J. F. Thomas,Municipal Gas Engineer; Mr. T. Gough, DeputyChief, Limerick Fire Brigade.

The ceremonies commenced with the recitationof the Rosary and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin byVery Rev. P. L. O’Sullivan, OP. The congregationjoined in the singing of Hail Queen of Heaven. TheAve Maria was intoned by the choir under the con-duction of Professor Donal Guina at the organ as theBishop walked towards the statue to perform thecrowning ceremony.

Solemn Benediction of the Most BlessedSacrament was given by His Lordship after thechoir had sung The Magnificat – the solo passageswere rendered by Miss Rene McGurk, soprano, andthe O Salutaris and Tantum Ergo.

Very Rev. O. L. O’Sullivan, OP, subsequent toSolemn Benediction thanked all for their attendanceand extended a word of appreciation to those kindbenefactors who donated gifts for the making of thecrown. He mentioned that His Lordship had thatnight crowned Our Lady of Limerick for all time.

The very pleasant ceremonies concluded, theLeader continued “with the singing of the Hymn to Our Lady of Limerick composed and set to music byRev. Aengus Buckley, OP, who designed the crown.

Our Lady of Limerick, most pure and most sweet,Thy children are kneeling all love at thy feet.From danger, oh guard us,Come ward off our fears,Be ever to guide in this vale of tears.

Star of the Morning, Bright Star of the day,Keep us forever near thee, we pray.

Deep blue is thy mantle as bright sky above,Keep thou our eyes ever on that sky of love.Come, hasten to help usWhen vision grows dim,Be ever to guide us from sorrows and sin.

Star of the Morning, Bright Star of day,Keep us ever near thee we pray.

Outside the church after the ceremonies mem-bers of the Limerick Pipe Band played hymns andIrish airs. A big crowd gathered in Baker Place andinside the church a constant stream filed past thenewly crowned statue.

The podium listen intently to John Reynolds, the chairman of the St. Mary’s Park committee.

MAYOR Ted Russell and his City Councilentourage attended their third MarianShrine blessing of the day (Sunday,

December 5) following the opening of theBallinacurra Weston and Killeely Shrines earlierthat day. Despite the continuous downpour hun-dreds of people attended the blessing and unveil-ing ceremony at Rathbane which was also attend-ed by Rev. Fr. S. O’Beirne, CC, Donoughmore.Prior to the ceremony the Marian Year prayer was

recited in the Church of Mary Queen of Peace afterwhich a procession, which included theBoherbuoy Brass and Reed Band and LimerickPipe Band proceeded to the Shrine built in theform of a grotto artistically laid out. The atten-dance also included, along with those mentioned,Mr. Michael J. Keyes, TD, Minister for Posts andTelegraphs; Rev. Fr. O’Sullivan, OP, Prior,Dominican Order; Rev. Fr. James Gormley, CSsR,and Rev. Fr. Shinnors, CF.

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Mayor Russell attends Rathbane blessing

The Rathbane committee: Back row: Mick Whelan, Paddy Dore, Paddy McMahon, Jimmy Kelly, Tony Stembridge, Mick Dempsey, Mick Kelly.Middle row: John McGowan, Mr. Finnan, Pa McGowan, John Power, Jack Higgins, Alfie Morrisson, Eamon Coll, Mike McMahon, Joe O’Malley.Front row: Tom Pearse, Jimmy Naughton, Patrick Stapleton, Bill Hayes, John Ryan, Paddy Burke, Michael McMahon. The Communicants areFrances Kelly, 112 Sycamore Avenue; Marie O’Malley, 26 Rathbane Road, and Marie Ryan, 8 Elm Place.

The chairman of the Shrine Committee Mr. W.Hayes, extended a welcome to the Mayor, CityCouncil and the Reverend Fathers and thankedthem for their presence. He said that the shrinebefore them was a perfect example of what could beachieved when men and women of goodwill unitedtogether for a common purpose.

The Mayor said the people of Rathbane weredeserving of the warmest congratulations for themagnificent memorial they had erected. Limerickcould be justly proud of the manner in which it hadshown its devotion to the Mother of God. Heexpressed the hope that Our Lady would bless themfor their endeavours by making Rathbane a happycentre for happy homes.

Rev. Fr. O’Beirne congratulated the residents fortheir splendid efforts in completing the Shrine. OurLady would bless them for it. It was a fine exampleof what people could do by the co-operative effort.

Fr. Gormley said that our Lady was never out-done in generosity and she would repay them ahundred fold for their work in erecting such a love-ly shrine toHer honour.

The ceremony concluded with the singing of“Faith of Our Fathers”.

Three little girls dressed in their white HolyCommunion dresses and veils placed bouquets offlowers on the Shrine. They were Frances Kelly, 112Sycamore Avenue; Marie O’Malley, 26 RathbaneRoad and Marie Ryan, 8 Elm Place (or Elm Avenue)as the Leader described it.

The members of the Rathbane committee wereChairman, Mr. W. Hayes; secretary, Mr. E. Coll;treasurer, Mr. J. Ryan. Committee: Messrs. P. Bourke,J. Naughton, P. Stapleton, M. Whelan, T. Pearce, J.O’Malley, J. Higgins, J. Kelly, P. McMahon, A.Morrison, T. Stembridge, Ml. McMahon, P.McGowan, J. Power.

The shrine at Rathbane, as in many other areas, was used by photog-raphers as the perfect back-drop for weddings and First HolyCommunions. Pictured above is a delightful looking youngster by thename of Geraldine Philpott

Miriam Donnelly proudly returns to the crowd having laid a bouquetof flowers at the feet of Our Lady just after the blessing of theProspect Shrine in November, 1954.


Boherbuoy Band leadBallinacurra Weston

residents in procession

Despite the inclement weather, hundreds ofpeople attended the blessing and unveil-ing ceremony at Ballinacurra Weston.

Long before the procession arrived from St. Joseph’sChurch every window and vantage point was occu-pied. The district was decorated with bunting andbanners and flags while illuminated miniatureshrines shone from a window in nearly every house.

“The Shrine, built on the rock garden principle,took some months to complete and the finishedwork is a credit to all concerned. The statue of OurLady, which is about five feet in height has a bluemantle which gives it a distinctive appearance.

“The procession from St. Joseph’s Church washeaded by the Boherbuoy Band followed by thechildren and adults of the district with Mayor Ald.G. E. Russell and members of the Corporation inattendance. Also present were Rev. Fr. M. Manning,CC, St. Michael’s; Rev. Fr. R. O’Sullivan, CC, St.Michael’s; Rev. Fr. LJ Taheny, OP, and Rev. Fr. JamesGormley, CSsR.

“The unveiling and blessing of the statue,”according to the Leader, “was performed by Fr.Manning during which the Marian Salute wassounded.”

The report continued: “Mr. Sean Mulligan, chair-man of the committee, on behalf of the people ofBallinacurra Weston, welcomed the Mayor,Corporation and the Reverend Fathers. He said itwas a day of great joy to the people of Weston andthey felt honoured and proud to have such a distin-guished gathering with them that day. He thankedthe voluntary workers who had given their time sounselfishly; the collectors for performing a very dif-ficult task and all those who had assisted in theirown way to complete the Shrine. It was the gen-erosity of the people and their love for the Mother ofGod that enabled them to finish the job.”

The Mayor expressed his own appreciation andthe appreciation of the City Council for the invita-tion extended to them.

“

Mattie Massey is pictured right, and Christy Devitt from Hyde Roadare pictured at the Weston Shrine.

All for the love of a Lady. . .The Limerick Leader of Wednesday, August 25,

1954 wrote following the opening of St. Mary’s ParkMarian Shrine that “hundreds of pounds and manyman hours will be spent in voluntary labour inLimerick City before this year ends – and all for thelove of a Lady.

“The Lady, of course, is Our Lady, and themoney and voluntary labour will be used to erectshrines in her honour in the fine housing schemesthroughout the city to commemorate the MarianYear.

“Following the blessing of the lovely shrine atSt. Mary’s Park, similar projects were started inBallynanty Beg, Prospect, Killeely, Rathbane andJanesboro. The work, as was the case in St. Mary’s,is being carried out by voluntary labour aided byvoluntary contributions.

“Little squads of workmen can be seen labour-ing each evening to build the Shrines. When com-pleted they will considerably enhance the beauty of

the housing schemes. They will also perpetuate thememory of the Marian Year as a reminder to futuregenerations of the city’s devotion to the Mother ofGod.

“The building of the Shrines,” the Leader wrote“has clearly demonstrated the wonderful value ofthe community spirit and what can be achieved byvoluntary effort amongst neighbours. That in itselfis a blessing – one of the many that will accrue tothose engaged in building for the glory and honourof the Mother of God.

“The women and children, too, are playing theirpart in this very commendable work. They haveformed themselves into collecting groups and takenturns raising subscriptions. Dances and plays havebeen organised to defray expenses.

“The erection of the Shrines has produced awonderfully happy spirit amongst neighbours anda justifiable and loveable pride in their own locali-ties,” the report concluded.

. . . Garryowen Shrine Approx. 50 acres of pasture land at Garryowen

will be shortly converted into a great building sitefor close on 500 houses the Limerick Leader report-ed in November, 1954.

“This ambitious scheme is to be carried out intwo sections. The first, is for 124 houses and thesecond for 360. The development of 20 acres for thefirst section has been completed. The site is nowready for building operations as all services, water,

sewerage, gas, roads and footpaths have all beenprovided,” the report continued.

“These two housing scheme, when completed,will assimilate, making a complete unit, giving thecity one of the finest housing projects to have beenundertaken by the Corporation,” the report con-cluded.

The area built their own Marian Shrine in 1983

Shrine unveiled at Bridgetown . . . The Very Rev. T. F. Canon Molloy, PP, VF,

Killaloe, blessed and declared open a new MarianShrine at Bridgetown, O’Brien’s Bridge. CanonMolloy recited a decade of the Rosary and theMarian Year prayer after which he addressed thelarge gathering.

TheShrine, which is situated near BridgetownChurch is very impressive, surrounded by a fourfoot wall with a magnificent railed entrance. TheLimerick Pipe Band led the procession and played“Faith of Our Fathers.”

. . . Mass said in Clothing Factory“For the first time since it was established over

a century ago, Mass was celebrated in the premisesof the Limerick Clothing Factory,” The LimerickLeader declared. The celebrant was Very Rev. JohnWhite, Adm., St. Michael’s and the congregationcomprised all the various staffs of the factory. Prior

to the celebration of the Mass, Fr. White blessed asix foot Marian Statue erected in the factorygrounds by the workers.

The Mass was celebrated to commemorate theclosing of the Marian Year on Wednesday,December 8, 1954.

“As you know,” he said, “four or five MarianShrines have been unveiled in Limerick during thepast few weeks and you, the people of BallinacurraWeston can be well proud of your tribute to OurLady in this Marian Year. This statue has not beenerected without much hard work and at times youthought the work might fail. It took the hard earnedsixpences and shillings of the people to gather thenecessary funds for the erection. It is a magnificenttribute to Our Blessed Mother and I hope that everyone of you will be inspired by the work with agreater love for the Mother of God.”

In conclusion, he expressed the hope that no actwould ever be done in the district to bring discreditto the fair name of Our Lady. He hoped that shewould enter their heart and homes and bring hap-

piness and contentment to them all.Fr. Manning said that participation in the cere-

mony made him very proud because the districtwas the first district he was appointed to by HisLordship the Bishop. The people’s wonderful loyal-ty to the faith was reflected in the affection of theirbeautiful tribute to Our Lady.

The Rev. speaker thanked the committee forinviting him to their meeting, the workers for theirunselfish labour and the collectors in their unenvi-able task of collecting the money and everyone inthe district who by their offerings, had made thebuilding of the Shrine possible. He thanked theMayor, members of the City Council and theReverend Fathers for their attendance at the joyfulceremony.

The faithful gather at the Weston Shrine on a desperately wet and cold December day in 1954

Flags and bunting had Ballinacurra Weston looking resplendent on the day of the opening on December 5, 1954.

Referring to that “unfortunate country France,”Fr. Manning said that it was full of wayside Shrines,crucifixes and grottoes but unfortunately, the peoplethere had lost the Faith and the Church was usingevery means possible to try and get them to practicetheir religion. Fortunately, for the people of Irelandthey had bought their faith at a very dear price,through the long nights of persecution and hehoped that by the building of these Shrines to OurBlessed Lady in districts and parishes the lessons ofChurch history would mean something to them. Heexpressed the hope that the statue of Our Ladywould be a continual reminder to parents to see thattheir religion and the spirit of their religion wouldbe preserved in their homes through familyprayers. That great priest Fr. Peyton, who haddevoted his life to the spreading of the Rosary, saidthat the family that prayed together stayed together.If they retained their love of Our Lady they could beassured that Ireland would never suffer the fate ofContinental countries.

Fr. O’Sullivan said that the building of a perma-nent memorial to Our Lady assured the people ofthe district of the protection of the Mother of God.There was never a moment in the thousands ofyears of the Church’s history that the faithful didnot experience the powerful intercession of theMother of God. That day they were reminded ofOur Lady’s heavenly power and glory.

“May this statue,” he concluded, “help toremind us of our duty towards Mary and may she

obtain for you all the promises of Christ.”Fr. Gormley, having expressed his joy at being

present, said that Limerick, perhaps more than anyother centre in Ireland, had demonstrated its loveand devotion to the Mother of God. The people ofBallinacurra Weston were not behind the rest ofLimerick in that respect. His Holiness the Pope whohad given them the Marian Year, was today suffer-ing from a serious illness and it might well be thathe was on his death bed. People often wonderedwhy there was so much suffering but it was a tra-dition of their faith that anything that was worth-while obtaining was worth suffering for. He askedthem to pray for the recovery of His Holiness andfor the strength and courage to help him to bear hissuffering. If he died he would go straight to thematernal arms of Mary to reap his just reward for alleternity. The crowd then joined in short prayers forthe Pope.

The ceremony concluded with the singing of“Ave Maria,” and “Faith of our Fathers.”

The committee in charge were Mrs. O’Brien,Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Mulqueen, Mrs. Finnan and Mrs.O’Reilly; Messrs. Hannon, Lowe, Mulqueen,Finnan, Murray, D. McInerney, J. McInerney,Murphy, Collins, O’Loughlin, Mulligan, O’Mahony,O’Donnell, Clohessy, O’Reilly, Allen, Murphy,Culhane, McCormack, Quinlivan, Carey, O’Brien,Hynes, Naughton, M. Lowe, P. Hannon,Prendergast, O’Shea, Campion, Brown, Thompsonand W. Hannon.

The Weston shrine has undergone several changes since it was opened and blessed in 1954. Following the initial blessing a timber canopy waserected around the shrine but over the years that deteriorated with the result the above Shrine now adorns the area. This picture was takenapprox 20 years after the official opening.

Teresa Hynes from Clarina Avenue pictured in front of the Shrine in Weston with the timber canopy. See Page 100 also.

SUNDAY, December 5, 1954, was a red letterday in the history of the Marian ShrineMovement when three were blessed and

unveiled together at Kileely, Ballinacurra Westonand neighbouring Rathbane.

The weather was most inclement but despitethat, huge numbers attended each of the unveilingceremonies.

“At Kileely,” the Leader wrote, “the Shrine is situ-ated in the grounds of the Christian Brothers’ Schools.The unveiling ceremony was performed by theBishop, Most Rev. Dr. O’Neill assisted by Right Rev.Monsignor M. Moloney, PP, VF, and Rev. Fr. Cagney,CC, St. Munchin’s and President of the Shrine com-mittee.

Before the unveiling ceremony, the Leader wrote,“a procession took place to the Shrine from St.Munchin’s Church. Those taking part in the proces-sion included the Mayor, Ald. G. E. Russell and mem-bers of the Corporation, school boys and girls and

parishioners of Kileely and district. As the processionproceeded to the Shrine hymns to Our Lady weresung to the accompaniment of St. John’s Band and St.Mary’s Fife and Drum Band. Prayers were also recit-ed as the people passed along the processional route.

“The Kileely district was very tastefully decoratedwith bunting and religious emblems and pictures.Many houses had their front windows fitted up withimages of the Blessed Virgin surrounded by fairylights. A special platform was erected at the Shrinewith loud speakers, over which the ceremony wasrelayed to the large congregation.”

On arrival at the Shrine a guard of honour ofKnights of Malta and Boy Scouts was drawn up forthe Bishop. As his Lordship unveiled the Shrine trum-peters sounded a salute to Our Lady. The other clergypresent at the ceremony were Rev. Fr. James Gormley,CSsR, Rev. Fr J. Godfrey, CC, Rev. Fr. G. Griffin, CCand Rev. Fr. M. Neville, CC.


Kileely shrine opened andblessed on same day as

Weston and Rathbane

The Shrine at Killeely pictured by John Fitzgerald.

This picture was taken on June 27,1954, a full two months before the

official blessing of the mainShrineat St. Mary’s Park on

August 15 of the same year. Theyoungsters are from left, Mary

Vaughan, Anna O’Doherty, RitaO’Doherty and Ann Kiely.

Most Rev. Dr. O’Neill, in an address to the congre-gation, congratulated all those responsible for theerection of the Shrine. Its completion was the culmi-nation of many months of voluntary labour for thelove and honour of Our Lady, he said.

In a reference to Our Lady’s ImmaculateConception, his Lordship said this was a most impor-tant thing. It reminded them of man’s weaknesses dueto original sin. If people appealed to the BlessedVirgin for help, however, she would always heed thatappeal to help them overcome their weaknesses. Withso much ungodliness in the world today it was nowmore important than ever before to trust in her forhelp.

The Bishop said he wished to thank MonsignorMoloney for inviting him to unveil the Shrine. He saidalso that he “regretted not being able to attend theunveiling ceremony of the Marian Year Shrine inBallynanty Beg some weeks ago.”

His Lordship concluded by reciting the MarianYear prayer and then imparted his blessing to the con-gregation.

The Mayor also spoke and congratulated the peo-

ple of Killeely for erecting such a beautiful Shrine tothe Mother of God. He felt sure she would continue towatch over them in the future just as she had done inthe past. After the ceremony the Bishop was intro-duced to each member of the Shrine Committee byMonsignor Moloney.

“One of the most enthusiastic workers in the erec-tion of the Shrine was 80-year-old Mr. WilliamMcNamara who did all the masonry work. He is theoldest mason in the city,” the report concluded.

The committee was Rev. Fr. Cagney, CC, St.Munchin’s, President; Mr. George McInerney, chair-man; Mr. Ger Hogan, vice-chairman; Mr. John Quane,hon. secretary; Messrs. Michael Earls Jnr.; JohnConnolly, Chris Mortell, Pat Kelly, Dan Gauld, GerKeogh, Sam Byrnes, Joe Kiely, Ger McShara, MichaelMcDonnell. Collectors were Mrs. Hogan, Misses EilyMoloney, Duggan, Gallagher, Honan, B. Hogan andMurray.

● Thanks to John Fitzgerald who went to thetrouble of getting me a picture of the Kileely Shrine.

THE building and blessing of Marian Shrinescontinued apace in Limerick with theJanesboro Shrine being blessed by Most Rev.

Dr. O’Neill, Bishop of Limerick. Though the magnif-icent edifice stands proudly at the top of MarianAvenue, the “White Collar” houses as they wereknown later, had not yet been fully completed.

Once again the Limerick Leader carried an indepth report on the opening which was held onSunday, December 19, 1954.

The paper continued: “From the weather viewpoint yesterday was a dull day. It was far from beinga dismal one in the hearts of the people of Limerick.

Especially in Janesboro enthusiasm was high. Theshrine which the residents had dedicated to OurLady of the Immaculate Conception was unveiledand blessed by His Lordship, the Bishop ofLimerick, Most Rev. Dr. P. O’Neill. It was such a joy-ous occasion for the Janesboro locality that the hous-es in the estate were tastefully decorated withsacred images and streamers bearing religious invo-cations spanning the roads. Everywhere there wasevidence of edification mingled with a deep sense ofjoy. Janesboro’s turn had come to pay a tribute toOur Lady in memory of the Marian Year. How wellthey did it.”


Janesboro shrine sited at Marian Avenue

Janesboro Parish Committee who built the Shrine to Our Lady in 1954. The blessing was preceded by a parade around the parish. The namesof the entire committee was placed in a bottle and under the base of the shrine. Back row (three standing), Mr. Sheehan, Leo Coughlan, DenisAhern. Second row Anthony Coughlan, Mr. Dean, Mr. Casey, Denis Morgan, Aidan Buckley, Mr. Tuthill, Fr. Wall, Mr. Power, Jack Culbert, VeryRev. Fr. Brazil, PP; Mr. Melleny –––?, Mr. O'Halloran, Jim Coughlan, Frank Taylor. Third row, Mr. Cleary, Mr. Flynn, Frank Glasgow, Mayorof Limerick; Fr. O'Byrne, –––––, Mr. Ahern, Paul Shinnors, Ger Barry, Noel Kennedy. Front: Buddy Coughlan, Finbar Carter, Martin Doyle,Mr. Farrell, Tony Benson, Mr. Carroll, Billy Grehan.

The Leader continued: “All ages combined tomake it an occasion worthy of remembrance. Eventhe little children played their role in producing ashrine neatly finished to plan. Set in an ideal loca-tion, fronting the vast housing estate, it representstoo a splendid specimen of Irish craftsmanship andlocal endeavour combined. With a cloak of familiarblue, the statue stands on a solid brick pedestal withfloral ornamentation. It was a touching scene and ajoyful one to see his Lordship culminate the zealousefforts of the Shrine Committee and its manyhelpers by unveiling the statue and giving it hisblessing.

“Children of Mary in their blue and white dressformed a guard of honour and a bugler sounded theroyal salute as his Lordship pulled the blue stringand unfolded the magnificent image of the MotherImmaculate. Prior to that simple ceremony the faith-ful of the parish and many outside it, walked in pro-cession through the housing estate after the recita-tion of the Rosary in Our Lady Queen of PeaceChurch. Led by the acolytes and the children of theparish, then followed by the Children of Mary andadults, the procession expressed the fidelity of thepeople to the Heavenly Queen. It was appropriatethat the procession should set out from MarianAvenue.

“Marching in the procession were Rev. Fr.Brassill, PP; Rev. J. M. Gormley, CSsR, SpiritualDirector, Arch Confraternity of the Holy Family;Rev. F. J. O’Beirne, CC; Rev. E. O’Dea, CC; Rev. Fr. D.Wall, CC and Rev. Fr. G. Wall, CC.

The Mayor, Ald. G. E. Russell, and the followingmembers of the Corporation also participated: Ald.J. Carew, TD, and Councillors Bradshaw, Connery,Coughlan, Glasgow, O’Connell and Walsh. The

hymns were played alternatively by the BoherbuoyBrass and Reed Band and the St. John’s Brass andReed Band. The members of St. John’s, St. Michael’sand St. Patrick’s troops of the Catholic Boy Scoutsaccorded his Lordship a guard of honour as hearrived and left. Members of the Knights of Maltawere also on duty.

“Having welcomed all in his capacity as presid-ing chairman, Mr. Thomas Crowe said that duringthe past four months men had laboured there in theerection of the Shrine to the Immaculate Mother ofGod. They worked earnestly and unselfishly in thebuilding of the beautiful Shrine. Yesterday,” headded, “this was an inanimate object of stone. Todayit is a beautiful image of God’s Holy Mother lookingdown on the people of Janesboro. And we hope andpray that she will shower down countless blessingson those people who gave us voluntary subscrip-tions in the past months; that they will take her intotheir homes and into their hearts and be a guidinglight both for themselves and their children.”

He continued: “I cannot let this occasion passwithout paying a tribute to the boys of the parishwho gave us such wonderful help in the completionof this shrine. I believe that if there are boys of such-calibre in the rest of Ireland as there are in Janesborothe tentacles of atheistic communism will not secureany stronghold in this country. We are indeed grate-ful for the assistance and help from all concerned,”he continued.

Mr. Crowe went on to thank the clergy for theirhelp and guidance and thanked everyone who hadassisted the committee in any way. He felt sure thatthe Holy Mother would shower many blessings onthem.

One of the many fundraisers the Janesboro committee organised was a dog night at the Market’s Field. It proved very successful. The organis-ers were Fr. Houlihan, Walter Bennett, Mr. Power, Jack O’Donnell, Fr. O’Sullivan, Mr. Geary, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Kearns, Mr. Tuthill, Tom Henn,Mr. Barrett, Mr. McMahon.

“She stands there with her hands outstretched,”he said, “asking you to turn to her in your distress-es and joys. Let us also remember those who werealive when this shrine was started, some of whomhave gone to their better reward, and we shouldremember them in our prayers this evening.”

The Bishop of Limerick, Most Rev. Dr. O’Neill,said that the people of Janesboro now had joined themany other sections of the city and the many placesthroughout the diocese in erecting that noble shrinein honour of the Immaculate Mother of God. “It is afitting termination of the year devoted especially byHis Holiness, Pope Pius XII to honour Our Lady. Hewas sure that in their gratitude to the Holy Fatherfor having initiated these special devotions in hon-our of this centenary year of Our Lady they wouldpray fervently for him during his present illness.”

His Lordship added that it was a joy and a pleas-ure for him to assist at this function; this evening ofunveiling and blessing the splendid statue of OurLady and it was an assurance to him that the heartsof the people of the parish were in the right place.They were continuing as their ancestors did, to givethe honour and glory that was due the Mother ofGod, he said.

Speaking of how strong the faith was in Ireland,His Lordship said “they had proof of that in manyways especially in the matter of vocations for mis-sions in other countries. They had people coming tothem from those places seeking the sons and daugh-ters of their people for work in the missions – a

work that none could do better than the Irish. Whilethe Irish were helping to spread the faith in otherlands there was a responsibility on every one ofthem to maintain the faith at home. If they did notdo that the work of those in other lands would cometo an end.”

Concluding, his Lordship expressed thanks toall those who contributed in any way financially orotherwise and particularly by the manual work inthe erection of the noble shrine. He was sure, astheir chairman had said, that countless blessingswould descend from the Mother of God on theparish and everyone in it in return for the erection ofthe shrine.

Rev. Fr. J. M. Gormley, CSsR, Spiritual Directorof the Arch Confraternity, in his address said it “hadoften been said that you need not be very long in acountry to know who its national heroes were. Inevery country of the world they would see expres-sions of the people’s gratitude for their nationalheroes. They would see statues of those heroeserected in parks and other prominent placesthroughout those countries. Any casual visitor toIreland would be struck by the fact that the oneobvious hero in this country must be theImmaculate Mother of God. Wherever people wentin Ireland and especially in Limerick they would seea shrine in honour of Our Lady. They had set aheadline in Limerick in many respects but especial-ly in this Year of Mary.

Janesboro’s hard-working shrine committee: From left, Mrs. McNamara, Mr. Casey, Willie Morgan, Mrs. Moore, Jack O’Donnell, WalterBennett. Front row: Mai Morgan, Peggy Meaney, Mrs. Kearns, Mrs. O’Flynn, Mrs. Collopy, Mr. Melleney and Mr. Power.

Fr. Gormley referred to the difficulties whichhad confronted those concerned in the erection ofthe Shrine and said that they had not completed thework until after the close of the Marian Year(December 8). It showed, however, that their firstdevotion to the Mother of God was not a merepressing thing. She really was that national herowho was given first place of honour after her DivineSon.

Finally, Fr. Gormley congratulated all concernedon the wonderful success that had crowned theirefforts. Surely, Mary would be very pleased as shelooked down on them. And as they had crownedher that evening in a circle of blue, she would pro-tect them during life and crown them in death withthe graces of her Divine Son.

The Mayor, Ald. G. E. Russell, joining in the con-gratulations to the people of Janesboro, on his ownbehalf and on behalf of his colleagues in theLimerick Corporation, said it was a proud day forthe people of Janesboro. He knew something of thetrials and difficulties they had to overcome beforethey could be ready to unveil that magnificent trib-ute to Our Lady which they saw that evening. Itwas, perhaps, unfortunate that the statue could notbe unveiled within the Marian Year but as Fr.Gormley said it came within Mary’s year of 1954.

“They in the Corporation,” he said, “had thehonour to be present at similar functions through-out the city. He thought that no city or town inIreland had done more to pay tribute to Our Ladythis year than Limerick City. Everyone associatedwith that effort deserved praise. He recalled seeingmen toiling on the site in their anxiety to completethe shrine and he knew of the spirit behind them toraise the tribute to Our Lady. The result of theirwork was the magnificent effort they saw thatevening. Every effort that sprang from the parishwas a worthy effort and everyone of those con-cerned could congratulate themselves. It was a fit-ting close to the Marian Year in Limerick and it wasa memory that he, as Mayor, would carry with himto the end of his days. He could assure the people ofJanesboro that he and his colleagues on the CityCouncil shared with them the joy and pride theymust feel on this wonderful day.”

The Janesboro committee was led by Rev. Fr. J.Beirne, CC, president; Mr. Tom Crowe, vice-chair-man; Mr. Martin Doyle, hon secretary and Mr. F.Glasgow, hon. treasurer. The rest of the committeewere D. Aherne, F. Carter, J. Coughlan, L. Kearns, T.Cleary, P. Power, P. Sheehan, P. Shinnors and J.Tuthill.

The committee reponsible for the Fair Green Shrine: Back row, B. O’Mahony, T. O’Connell, J. Liston. Second row: D. Lipper, J. O’Neill, M.O’Flaherty, J. O’Mara. Third row: M. O’Connor, A. Garrard, J. J. Kenneally, P. O’Shea J. O’Byrne, Mrs. Sweeney. Front: Mrs. Sheerin, Mrs.Byrnes, W. Hanrahan, P. Fitzgerald, P. O’Neill, M. Ryan, Mrs. Lipper, Mrs. Simms.

ONE of the last of nine shrines erected inLimerick to commemorate the Marian Yearwas unveiled and blessed yesterday on his-

toric ground at the Fair Green by the Bishop ofLimerick, Most Rev. Dr. P. O’Neill. The houses in thedistrict were specially decorated with sacred pic-tures and the general scene was one of reverenceand joy in marking the great occasion.

On historic ground adjoining the Fair GreenHousing Estate where the National Apostle, St.Patrick preached the Gospel stands an imposingshrine in honour of the Immaculate Conception. It isanother symbol of the tender affection that the peo-ple of Limerick have for the Mother of God.

The map of Limerick is now serenely dotted withshrines dedicated to the Mother of God. They notonly represent pleasant reminders of the MarianYear but could be looked upon as happy auguries of

Limerick’s spiritual future.In a chilly yesterday afternoon, His Lordship, R.

Rev. Dr. O’Neill, Bishop of Limerick, had the greatpleasure of unveiling and blessing the Fair GreenShrine. Also present at the ceremony were Very Rev.J. Cowpar, DD, PP, St. Patrick’s, who assisted HisLordship; Rev. Fr. P. O’Regan, CC, St. Patrick;s Rev.Fr. E. Casey, CC, St. Patrick’s Rev. J. M. Gormley,CSSr, Spiritual Director of the Arch Confraternity ofthe Holy Family; Rev. Fr. Canny, CSSr, and Rev. Fr.Rocks, CSSr.

The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, Mr. M. J.Keyes, TD., the Mayor, Ald. G. E. Russell, marchedin the procession from St. Patrick’s Church to thesite of the grotto. With them were Senator J. Reidy,Ald. J. Carew, TD, Mr. P. O’Connell, BC, Mr. M.Cunneen, BC, Mr. F. Glasgow, BC, M. JJ Connery,BC, Mr. S. Coughlan, BC and Mr. C. Keyes, NT, BC.

MMoonnddaayy,, JJaannuuaarryy 33,, 11995555

Fair Green Shrine erected on historic ground

One of the earliest known pictures of the Fair Green Shrine. The picture, supplied by Sean O’Flaherty, shows the original ornate metal screensurrounding the Shrine which is reported to have come from the floor of the Redemptorist Church. About ten or fifteen years later the currentfrontage was built with the railings again replaced only a month or so ago (see picture Page 42).

St. John’s Brass and Reed Band, under the con-duction of Mr. A. Kearsley, BM, played the hymnalmusic for the processionists, led by the schoolboysof the parish. Men and women, and girls wearingtheir confraternity medals also marched as didmembers of the Catholic Boy Scouts and the Knightsof Malta whose standard was carried. Religiousbanners as well as the Papal flag and Tricolour wereborne in the most edifying procession.

After His Lordship had performed the simple butbeautiful ceremony of unveiling and blessing thestatue of the Immaculate Conception, the bandplayed the hymn “Immaculate” which was sponta-neously sung by those present.

Mr. Michael Ryan, chairman of the very energeticcommittee welcomed all present, especially HisLordship, the Bishop of Limerick, who had highlyhonoured them by his presence.

His Lordship addressing the gathering, said hedid not require to be thanked for having come thereon that magnificent occasion. They were there onholy and historic ground, practically standing thereon the site, he supposed, on which St. Patrick stoodwhen he brought the first message of the Faith to thepeople of Singland and to all who had come to hearhim. And if down through the centuries the people

have been loyal in their devotion to the BlessedVirgin they surely must attribute the credit for thatto a great extent, to St. Patrick’s missionary work.

His Lordship said he desired to give expressionbriefly to his admiration of the work of the commit-tee in setting up that beautiful shrine. He wished tothank all those who in any way co-operated in thework, whether by subscriptions or by helping in anyother way, but especially those who had helped bytheir manual work. He was sure that the Shrinewould bring countless blessings on the people ofSingland. It was a particular day and a glorious dayfor the people of the parish and that district, and hewas certain that blessings would fall abundantly onthem. The Mother of God would protect them andcomfort them in their trials and be with them all thedays of their lives.

The Mayor, Ald. GE Russell, speaking on behalfof his colleagues of the Limerick Corporation,extended to the chairman and members of the com-mittee in charge his deep-felt thanks for giving themthe opportunity of being with them at the pleasantfunction on that historic and memorable occasion.He would like to be associated with the remarks ofHis Lordship in congratulating all those who tookpart in the building of the Shrine.

A much later version of the same Fair Green Shrine but with new railings and St. Brigid’s Church in the background. The picture was takenprobably in the late ’70s or early ’80s. The bars and gate were replaced back in July of this year.

His Worship went on to congratulate all thosewho were concerned in the manual work and thosewho had the hard task of going around collectingfunds. The work was now completed and it was amagnificent tribute to Our Blessed Lady. The peoplethere would not only regard the Shrine as a tributeto Our Lady but it would be an inspiration to everyhome in that section of the parish. He hoped thatthat occasion of unveiling and blessing the Shrinewould be remembered throughout the days beforethem. It was the last Marian Shrine unveiled inLimerick and it was truly a worthy memory in that

historic parish.Mr. Michael Ryan, Chairman of the committee,

finally returned thanks to everyone connected withthe erection of the Shrine. ‘There is one, I feel, I mustmention by name,’ he continued ‘ That is PeadarFitzgerald. But for the work of this young man ourpresence here today would not be possible. ToPeadar Fitzgerald’s gallant work must go our high-est praise.’

The inspiring ceremony concluded with the play-ing by the band of “Faith of our Fathers.”

The residents of the Fair Green and surrounding areas turned out in large numbers to witness the blessing of their own Marian Shrine in January,1955.

Personal reflections ofa young man in the Fair

Green By JIM SIMMS

I CAN remember the building of the Shrine verywell. It was a combined effort from the people ofthe 76 houses. Us children used to gather stonesand other rubble to put into the foundation.Boys like Eddie McCarthy, Mick O’Neill, DenisRyan and others were there to help and do oddjobs. The building itself was in the hands ofPeadar Fitzgerald of Bengal Terrace and TommyO’Brien and John Liston, all of whom had anexcellent knowledge of the building trade. BertieO’Mahony was, I think, the person who provid-ed the first railings (see picture P.41) to encom-pass the shrine. It has been said that the railingmay have come out of the Redemptorist Churchwhich were the gratings on the floor. The shrinewas not blessed until January of 1955. What thedelay was, I’m not sure, but it could possibly bethe statue of the Blessed Virgin was not readyuntil then. For many years after some of thelocals used to go there to say their rosary. As theresidents died off so did the custom and todayonly a handful still pray there at night.

A Limerick Weekly Echo picture of committee and supporters of the Fair Green Shrine Initiative

“OUR forefathers held steadfastly to the Faith withcourage and determination and handed it down tous, bright and unsullied,” declared the Rev FatherRuddle, PP, Ardagh, when he addressed a hugegathering of parishioners and visitors on the bleakfurze covered mountainside at Ballyine in the WestLimerick parish of Ardagh, on Sunday, August 15,1954, on the occasion of the blessing and unveilingof yet another Marian Shrine in County Limerick.The assembly, one of the most historic in the reli-gious history of the parish, was composed of sever-al hundred men, women and children who hadmade the difficult hillside ascent to be present at thespecial open-air Mass to commemorate the blessingand unveiling of a magnificent Marian Year Shrineerected on the very spot where the Holy Sacrificewas celebrated furtively during the dark PenalDays.

The ceremony, wrote a staff reporter of theLeader, was one of the most impressive and edify-ing of its kind ever held in the west of the country.Bright summer sunshine, all the more welcomebecause of its rarity this year, added much to thecolour and attractiveness of the moving hillsidescene. There was unique atmosphere of quiet digni-ty and solemnity as proud parishioners augmentedby hundreds of visitors from far and near assembledaround the artistically designed Shrine and altar,which were provided by the voluntary and co-oper-ative effort of local residents. Numerous membersof the clergy and Sisters of Mercy Order joined withthe assembled crowd in the celebration of the Mass,the first held for over a century and a half in theremote mountain glen to which tradition has aptlygiven the name of Clash-na-Sagarth. For it was here,on this hallowed spot, that the faithful from the sur-rounding countryside gathered for the HolySacrifice in those far off evil days when the Bishopsand priests were hunted and proscribed and thepeople robbed of everything but their Faith.

All throughout the morning there was a seem-ingly endless stream of men and women, boys andgirls wending their way slowly up the difficultpathways and crossing mountain streams on theirway to the newly-erected Shrine. They were of allages and classes and in the final steep ascent to thehalf-hidden glen, the very old, as well as the veryyoung had to be assisted to the scene of the ceremo-nial. Papal and Marian Year flags fluttered in thegentle but bracing hilltop breeze above the richly

decorated altar shrine on which was displayed acolourful display of floral tributes from parishionersand visitors. The ceremony opened with a selectionof sacred music from the Newcastle WestConfraternity Band and when the Mass opened at12 noon there must have been close on 2,000 in theunique congregation accommodated in the centreand sloping side of the little glen.

The Shrine was unveiled and blessed by Rev.Father Ruddle, PP, Ardagh, and it is interesting torecall that according to local tradition two priests ofthe same name offered the Holy Sacrifice on thesame spot during the Penal Days.

In the course of an inspiring address FatherRuddle thanked all who helped to erect the Shrinewhich, he said, would stand out as a lasting memo-rial to the faith of the people of Ardagh.

Most solemn part of the ceremony came with theopen air Mass, celebrated by Rev Father Fitzgibbon,CC, Ardagh, in the presence of a distinguished gath-ering of clergy and Sisters of the Mercy Order, whowere accommodated in a place of honour directly infront of the altar. Right Rev. Monsignor Hannan, PP,VG., Newcastle West, who made the difficult ascentunaided, represented the Bishop of Limerick whowas absent in Lourdes.

Other clergy in attendance included:- Very RevCanon Carroll, PP, VF., Rathkeale, Rev M Kelly, CCNewcastle West, Rev Father Cussen, CC, Foynes,Rev Father Bowles, OMI, Cahermoyle.

Amongst the nuns present was Rev MotherSeraphine, Mercy Order, Kilkenny, sister of Mr PatKennedy, Balline, Chairman of the Committeeresponsible for the project. By their presence, SrSeraphine and Mr Kennedy maintained an unbro-ken tradition with the Penal Mass on the Clash inwhich their great-grandfather assisted as a boy.Another of the sisters present was Sister Stanislausof the Mercy Order who came from the well-knownlocal shrine family.

After the Mass, the Rosary was recited by Rev MKelly, CC, Newcastle West and for a considerabletime afterwards a big section of the crowd remainedon the mountainside to pay personal tributes beforethe altar and secure helpings of water from the well,which having been discovered in the course of exca-vation work, has been preserved and encased aspart of the Shrine.


Marian Shrine on spot whereMass was said in Penal times

The Shrine, which commands a strikingpanoramic view of a vast expanse of countrysidewas erected by voluntary labour and the assistanceof a committee of local residents of which Mr. PatrickKennedy, Ballyine, was chairman.

Mr Tom Mulvihille, Ballina-Bearna was mainlyresponsible for the design and construction of theShrine, which is a remarkable tribute to his finecraftsmanship. He was ably assisted at the work byMr Jerry O’Sullivan and the other members of thecommittee.

Addressing the gathering, Rev Father Ruddlesaid: “We are assembled here today to hear Mass atthe very spot where in the Penal Days the HolySacrifice was celebrated by the hunted and pro-scribed priests. Thank God the long dark winter ofpersecution has passed, leaving behind examples ofheroism, courage and steadfastness. Today we live inhappier times, when we have freedom of religion toworship God according to the laws of the CatholicChurch. We can hardly understand the conditionsunder which our forefathers lived and died, true totheir faith and fatherland. A few words about thosePenal Laws will not be out of place today.

“In 1697, the Dublin Parliament passed an Act for

the banishment of all Catholic Bishops, leavinguntouched the parish clergy, who it was hopedwould die in time for want of consecration. TheBishops were reduced to six, living the most obscureand dangerous lives. Then in 1703 came an Act ban-ishing Regulars and Vicars-General, a RegistrationAct for priests. It was an Act that all priests shouldtake an oath of abjuration and swear that the son ofJames 11 had no rights to the Crown and to pledgethemselves to the Protecture. All refused, needless tosay.

“We now come to the famous Dr Lacey, Bishop ofLimerick for 21 and a half years. Dr Robert Laceywas consecrated Bishop in France in 1738. He wasborn at Dromada, Athea and was of ancient lineage,the De Laceys. He became president of the IrishCollege, Bordeaux and it must have been a greatchange from the cloistered corridors of Bordeaux tothe hunted hillsides of Limerick. But, Dr Lacey wasof stern stuff and he came home to his Diocese withcalmness and courage. He took over the parishes ofNewcastle West and Monagea and spent ten years inNewcastle West. His memory is perpetuated by thename of the street where he lived - Bothair anEaspuigh, Bishop Street.

Over 2,000 souls climbed the mountain at Ballyine to celebrate the opening of their Marian Shrine.

“In 1744-45, the smouldering fires of Penal Lawslit up again and the priest-hunters were busy every-where. Dr Lacey had to go on his keeping and seekrefuge in the fastness of West Limerick and morethan likely he celebrated Mass on the Mass Rock onwhich we stand today. Dr Lacey died in Limerick in1759 and was buried according to his wishes in thegrave of his ancestors in the old ruined church atArdagh. The old roadway by which the funeralcortege approached is still pointed out. It is now adisused bye-road but it is still called Bothair anEaspuigh, the Bishop’s roadway. Later, Dr Young,Bishop of Limerick, erected a massive stone slabover the grave. Beneath the stone are deposited themortal remains of Rev Robert De Lacey, Bishop for21 and a half years, who departed this life on 4thAugust, 1759. Dr Lacey was mild and gentle and heruled, we are told, with patience and also with reso-lution.

“Thank God we live in happier times at least inthis country, but it is not so behind the Iron Curtain.In China there was 5,000 foreign missioners in 1940,now only 38 remain. Bishops, priests, nuns andbrothers have been either murdered, imprisoned orexpelled and it is very heartbreaking to all Catholicsthat we are here today and should pray for our suf-fering fellow-Catholics in these afflicted lands thatthey may have courage to endure their bitter lot.

“But the truth will prevail, the Catholic Churchwill rise again and its persecutors will be no more.Napoleon, Hitler and Mussollini are examples. They

too sought to persecute the Church, which has tri-umphed, while they are no more. Our own forefa-thers held steadfastly to the faith with courage anddetermination and handed it down to their descen-dants, bright and unsullied.

“We are also assembled here to honour theBlessed Virgin, Mother of God, on this, the Feast ofher glorious Assumption. Now the parishioners ofArdagh and Carrickerry have erected a noble statueto the Blessed Virgin on the very spot where Masswas said in the Penal times. It will stand out as alasting memorial of the faith of the people ofArdagh and shows beyond all doubt their reverenceand love for the Virgin Queen. As Parish Priest ofthis historic parish it is my privilege to thank allwho helped to erect this statue and altar. No doubtit was a labour of love and all will be rewarded spir-itually at least and I’m sure they all rejoice in thesuccess of the project. I would also like to extend mythanks to Monsignor Hannan, Canon Carroll andthe other visiting priests and nuns,” Fr. Ruddle con-cluded.

The committee was led by chairman, Mr. PatKennedy, assisted by Messrs. John Sheehan, vice-chairman; Mr. John Kennedy, treasurer; Mr. JohnLee, secretary. Committee: Messrs. John Doody,Jerry O’Connell, John Kiely, Joe O’Sullivan, MauriceDooley, J. Woulfe, Wm. Barrett, James Heffernan,Tom Mulvihille, Jerry O’Sullivan, P. O’Sullivan, TomEnright, Joe Heffernan, John O’Connell, NT; JasLynch, Jim Drew, Jack B. Enright, Jim Hough.

Over 2,000 people attended the unveiling and blessing of the Marian Shrine at Ballyine. ❏ Pictures: John P. O’Sullivan

A section of the huge crowd at the Ballyine Shrine.

Two lovely shots of the Ballyine Shrine

ONE of the finest Marian Shrines in CountyLimerick was at Stonehall and was openedand blessed on Sunday, May 8, 1955, the first

anniversary of the opening of the Marian Year.The Leader wrote:“Sunday, May 8 was a red letter day for the parish

of Stonehall when the beautiful Marian Shrine,erected beside the new school and forming a land-mark on the main road between Limerick andFoynes was declared open.

“At 1 p.m. a procession was formed outsideStonehall Church. It was led by the CopsewoodBand, then came the children, most of whom worewhite veils. After these were a very large number ofparishioners and finally a number of cars. The pro-

cession wended its way reverently to the Shrine, tothe accompaniment of the Rosary.

“On its arrival, Rev. Fr. Bluett, PP, solemnlyblessed the statue. Then he thanked the people forthe work done and introduced Fr. O’Brien,President, St. Munchin’s College, who delivered ashort but pithy address. He complimented his lis-teners on their evident devotion to Our Lady andassured them of her powerful protection andexhorted them to maintain her Shrine in its presentloveliness,” the short report concluded.

The Shrine was designed by Mr. Dermot Madden,son of Mrs. Madden, NT, Kilcornan and erected bythe contributions and voluntary labour of theparishioners.

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Kilcornan described as being‘one of the finest’ Shrines

in County Limerick

Crowds turned out in huge numbers for the opening of the Stonehall Shrine in Kilcornan

The adults march past the Coach Inn in Kilcornan for the blessing of the Shrine at Stonehall

The locality’s children prepare for the opening of the Stonehall Shrine in 1955. ❏ Pictures: Jerome O’Connell

Very Rev. Fr. Bluett blesses the holy Shrine atKilcornan in 1955.

❏ Pictures: Michael Costelloe

The committee who helped buildKilcornan Shrine. Back row: NedSheehan, Sean Hanley, Johnny O’Keeffe,Jimmy Nash, Dan Nash. Middle: DenisMcDonnell, ----?, Jack Neville, PaddyO’Connell, Mike Hanley, Paddy Mann,Jim Nash. Front: Dermot Madden, SusanMadden, NT, Principal; Miss O’Sullivan,NT; Mary Murphy, Noreen O’Keeffe,Jack Sheehy

DESPITE an exceptionally severe gale and per-sistent heavy rain, over 1,500 parishionersand visitors turned out at Foynes on

Wednesday 8th inst. for the unveiling of a mostattractive Marian Year Shrine at the Limerick end ofthe Shannon Port town. The storm-swept and par-tially submerged main street was profusely decorat-ed for the occasion with flags and bunting and thehighly impressive ceremony was preceded by a pro-cession from the Parish Church to the picturesquesite of the Shrine at the other end of the town.Singing appropriate hymns and reciting the Rosaryas they wound their way along the streets, the pro-cessionists (writes a staff reporter of the Leader)braved the bitterly cold elements in order to share inthe triumph of a noteworthy voluntary effort whichresulted in the erection of the magnificent Shrinewith its fine life-size statue of Mary Immaculate.

For many weeks past an energetic committee,aided by a willing band of voluntary workers, hadlaboured day and night to ensure that the Shrinewould be ready for unveiling on the Feast of theImmaculate Conception and the close of the MarianYear. Having thus succeeded in the seeminglyimpossible task, the parishioners decided that thewell nigh impossible weather conditions would notdeprive them of the joy of a public ceremony to markthe auspicious occasion.

In conclusion Canon Rice also expressed his sin-cere thanks to the ladies who had done their part ofthe work very well indeed and to whom the commit-tee were very grateful. He hoped Mary Immaculatewould help to bring God’s choicest blessings on themall.

Mr Andrew Crowley, Chairman of the ShrineCommittee said that in erecting the Shrine they wereseeking to honour Our Blessed Lady on the last dayof the Marian Year. On behalf of the Committee hewished to thank all those who had assisted in thecompletion of the work. He thanked Canon Rice whogot the idea of having the Shrine in Foynes and whohad selected the site. By his organising ability andenthusiasm, Canon Rice had got the committeetogether and got the work off to a good start. He gavethem all the help and advice they needed and but for

him they would have had no Shrine.On arrival at the neatly enclosed and illuminated

site of the Shrine, the various units of the procession,including members of the mens’ and womens’Confraternities, school children, church choir andaltar boys, assembled around the enclosure for theunveiling and blessing of the Shrine by Very Rev.Canon Rice, PP.

Before the ceremony all present joined in render-ing hymnal tributes to Mary Immaculate and therewas a moving scene as Canon Rice unveiled andblessed the fine statue. In the course of a brief addressCanon Rice told the large gathering that by erectingthe lovely Shrine they had given a definite answer tothe enemies of Mary and proved their loyalty anddevotion to the Immaculate Conception. Before theclose of the ceremony two lovely white floral tributeswere laid at the base of the Shrine by little Miss CiaraWall and Master Fergus Harte.

Also present at the ceremony were: President, VeryRev. Canon Rice, PP, VF., Chairman, Mr AndrewCrowley; Hon Secretary, Mr Dan Corcoran, commit-tee:- Messrs MJ Fitzgerald, D Commerford, S Jackson,D Mulrooney, J Finnucane, Ed. Nestor and JDonovan.

Addressing the large gathering, Canon Rice saidthat by erecting this beautiful Shrine on the last dayof the Marian Year the parishioners had by their gen-erosity shown their loyalty and devotion to theImmaculate Conception. By their generosity they hadalso given a very definite answer to Our Lady’s ene-mies on this earth. They had given an answer to theRussian ideology which did not permit allegiance tothe Church. In this country they had reason to begrateful to Almighty God for the freedom of religiousworship they enjoyed. In Ireland, thanks be to God,they were free to practice the religion they had cho-sen. In the past they too had endured suffering andpersecution for their faith and today in countries out-side their own holy land, their people were sufferingpersecution, imprisonment and even death by tor-ture because they chose to follow the Divine Lordand Mary. It would be their duty, therefore, whenthey gathered round this Shrine to pray for thoseoppressed peoples who were being persecuted fortheir allegiance to God and his devoted Mother.

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Attractive Marian Shrineunveiled at Foynes

They should be thankful to God that the day hadcome when they could boast of having erected apublic Shrine in the lovely village of Foynes to theBlessed Virgin. Mary loved her devoted Son and itwas her wish that we too should love Him. And,there was no more practical way of showing thatlove than by keeping God’s Commandments andavoiding mortal sin. He hoped the Shrine wouldhelp to increase that devotion to Mary in the parish.He felt with the good people of Foynes that they hadlived to see the day when this beautiful Shrine wascompleted. He was sure the Shrine would be anadded source of devotion to Mary in the parish.

Canon Rice said that in the name of the clergy ofthe parish he wished to thank all the parties con-cerned for their generosity and co-operation. Theparishioners had been very kind and very generousand the completed Shrine was proof of their gen-erosity and kindness. They had subscribed magnifi-cently to the fund raised for the purpose and he feltsure that even if they had been called on to do more

they would gladly have done so. He wished to spe-cially thank the members of the committee whoundertook the great work. Right through they co-operated nobly and willingly under the chairman-ship of Mr. Crowley, who left nothing undone toensure that they would have the Shrine ready forthat day. That work was a great credit to the com-mittee and the people of Foynes.

Canon Rice also thanked Mr Comerford, owner ofthe land on which the site was provided, MrThompson, Architect, Limerick and his assistant, MrMcMahon for their invaluable assistance and thevoluntary workers who laboured night and dayunder very inclement weather conditions in order tohave the Shrine completed in time. He desired toexpress a special word of thanks to Mr Little, with-out whose kindness they might never have been ableto go ahead with the work and also to Lord andLady Monteagle for their kindness in placing theplot at their disposal.

Foynes Shrine

Mr Crowley expressed regret at the unavoidableabsence of Rev. Father John Walsh, who while con-ducting a retreat in the parish when the idea of theShrine was first suggested, gave them very valuableadvice and assistance; the ladies for the way inwhich they had handled the collection and Mr Kingfor a very successful jumble sale. He thanked allwho had so generously responded to the appeal forfunds and to which the response was magnificent.

They owed a deep debt of gratitude to theMonteagle Estate Co. and particularly to Mr Littlefor making the beautiful site available for a nominalsum. Mr Little was very helpful and freely gavethem advice on various matters. Thanks were alsodue to the Architect, Mr Thompson, Limerick andhis assistant, Mr Tom McMahon for the lovelydesign. Mr McMahon spent much time and thoughtin ensuring that they got the best and most pleasingShrine possible for the money at their disposal.Their contractor Mr John O’Connor, Tarbert, wasalso deserving of their best thanks.

In spite of a late start and inclement weather, hemanaged to have the shrine ready for that day’s cer-emony. He also thanked Mr O’Riordan of SouthernChemicals Ltd. and Mr Tom Lyons for their valuableassistance.

They must not forget, Mr Crowley continued,their voluntary workers, the men who spent manyhours working hard on the site to ensure that every-thing would be in readiness for the unveiling cere-mony. But for them, their expenses would be con-siderably higher. Sergt. Hunt GS and Mrs Hunt hadbeen also very helpful, in conclusion Mr Crowleythanked his fellow members of the Committee forthe help and co-operation which was freely andgenerously given at all times. They had many will-ing helpers and received support from many quar-ters and he was sure they were all well pleased withtheir reward that day of seeing the lovely Shrineunveiled.

At the close of the ceremony all present joined insinging “Faith of Our Fathers”.

These children were pictured at the windsweptBallyine Shrine in 1954

Bengal Terrace Committee: Back, Mary Cotter, Margaret McAuley, Alice Greaney, Nell Mulhall, Christy Judge, Kitty O’Brien, John Greaney,Mary Moore, Celia Murphy, Breda Cotter, Teresa Cotter, Sean Curry, Noel King. Front: Frank Murphy, Paddy O’Connor, Malachy Connors,Paddy Kearney, Jack Wade, Willie O’Brien, Pat Cotter.

Bengal Terrace Committee

Another impressive picture taken at the Shrine in Bengal Terrace. Back row: Mary Cotter, Breda Cotter, Mary Moore, Christy Judge, Sean Curry,Paddy Kearney. Front: Margaret McAuley, Alice Greaney, Jack Wade, Malachy Connors, Willie O’Brien, Christy Griffin, Nell Mulhall, CeliaMurphy, Teresa Cotter, Pat Cotter. Daniel J. McAuley, not in the picture, was chairman of the committee and did trojan work for the area

Though covering only Limerick Shrines it is worth including the magnificent Cratloe Shrine in this book as it was always a place of pilgrimagefor Limerick people who used to pack the area on Sundays up to very recently. This particular picture was taken in 1964 and is out of the filesof the Limerick Chronicle.

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This particular Shrine is inside thegrounds of the Presentation Convent inHospital. ❏ Picture from the Tom Keogh Collection

Celebrating an incredile 100 years is theShrine built in Hospital by Very Rev.Canon Scully. This Shrine, like the rest inthe city and county is lovingly tended bythe locals and even after a century thegrotto is still in pristine condition.

❏ Picture HARRY GREENSMYTH

WITH miniature altars lining the route ofthe procession and a marvellous displayof bunting and banners the town and

parish of Ballingarry gave a truly Catholic welcometo Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception onAugust 15, on the occasion of the blessing of theMarian Shrine, built by the people of the parish, theLimerick Leader wrote the following Wednesday.

The Shrine was blessed by the Very Rev. T.Canon Wall, PP, who read the Pope’s Prayer for theMarian Year and the prayer for our Irish emigrantsin England, assisted by Very Rev. Canon Carroll, PP,Rathkeale; Rev. Fr. Sadlier, CC, DCL, Granagh, andRev. Fr. Ryan, CC, Ballingarry.

The procession, numbering several hundred,headed by the St. John’s Brass and Reed Band,Limerick, Children of Mary, Legion of Mary, schoolchildren, members of the Sacred HeartConfraternity and the Pioneer Total AbstinenceAssociation, marched from the Church of theImmaculate Conception to the Shrine near Sunday’s

Well, the Rosary being recited en route by the Rev.Fr. Ryan, CC.. Rev. Fr. Sadlier, CC, DCL, addressingthe large gathering said they had come here to hon-our Mary and had raised a beautiful Shrine, whichwill endure for generations and will be an outwardsymbol of their love and devotion to God’s HolyMother. It was fitting that this ceremony would takeplace on that day – the Feast of the Assumption –when the Immaculate Body and Soul were raisedinto heaven.

“On that day their thoughts must wander tothose from the parish who have gone across theseas to make a home and a living,” Fr. Sadlier, said,and added: “Those emigrants are specially dear tothe heart of Mary who is watching over them. In thelarge pagan cities of England, far removed fromCatholic influences, they would not see such a cere-mony as was being held here this day.

“By our conduct here at home,” he said, “we canbe a source of great help to those emigrants and wehope and pray that those who have emigrated will,by their conduct, bring many converts to theCatholic Faith. No impulse is more praiseworthythan the dedication of this parish to Mary. She iswatching over us and helping us during everymoment of our lives,” the report concluded.

Nora O’Keeffe from Ballingarry writes: “TheParish Shrine is situated at the High Road, PoundStreet, now known as Marian Road. It was during abus trip to Knock that the idea came to the mind ofChristy Tierney. He spoke with the late MaryDinneen and the late Nell Fennell Long. Theyagreed there and then to call a meeting of the parish-ioners.

“The first meeting was then held at the BoysSchool on October 31, 1954. A number of sites weresuggested and a vote was taken on two – the Squareor Sunday’s Well. The latter was decided by sevenvotes to eight and a committee was formed.

“Canon Wall consented to act as chairman for Fr.Ryan was the vice-chairman. The committee alsoincluded: Christy Tierney, secretary; Mary Dinneen,treasurer; Harry O’Brien, John Keating, GuardFitzpatrick, Tadgh O’Doherty, Ned Cronin, J. Reidy,Katie Meagher and P. Kelly.

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Ballingarry parishioners pray for emigrants

Christy Tierney . . . the only remaining member of the BallingarryShrine Committee.

“The Committee approached Dan Bowen whokindly granted permission to have the shrine built onhis land. The statue was purchased in Cork andtransported by the late Bunny O’Kelly. The stone wasbrought all the way from Knockpatrick by PatMulcair and some also came from Burns’ of Ballynoe.The stone work was done by Mr. Costelloe fromKilmallock and the electrical work by Ned Cronin.

“A fundraising committee was formed and con-sisted of Molly O’Brien, Ina Bergin, Mrs. Gaffney,Nellie Bowen, Mary Bowen, Mary Jo Casey, BridieHoulihan, Helen Sheehan, Annie O’Grady, PearlBenson, Sadie Irwin, Margaret McEnery, MaryClifford, Ann Hayes, Hannie Fitzgerald, MaryFitzpatrick, Bridie Hickey, Kathleen Noonan, Mrs. M.O’Grady, Francie Burke, Ita Quaid, Annie O’Connell,Ollie Condon, Lil Bourke. Each member had theirown area to collect while coming up to Christmas of1954 carol singing was organised. The carol singers,believe it or not, visited Croom, Limerick City,Patrickswell, Adare, Newcatle West, Foynes, Glin,Listowel, Abbeyfeale, Athea, Castlemahon,Dromcollogher, Charleville, Ballybunion. The intrep-id singers were Mary Dinneen, Nan O’Brien, PatrickKelly, Annie O’Connell, Marie O’Connell, Bridie

Hartnett, Bridie Sheehy, Hannah Healy, P. Hogan, M.Quaid, Johnny Hartnett, Maura Quaid, MichaelMcInerney, Christy Tierney and the collectors onthose occasions were Nell Fennell and Ned Cronin.Cars were supplied by Jim Benson, P. Kelly, M.Connell, P. J. Cronin, Jim Irwin, Pa Noonan and P.Cronin. Other means of fundraising were Bazaars,dances, shows, raffles and concerts. The plays wereorganised by John Keating. One raffle, whichamassed £6/6s, was for two cocks, donated by MollyO’Grady and won by Tom Martin.

“Work began,” Nora writes, “ on Monday night,January 17, 1955 and was completed and unveiled onMonday, August 15, 1955.

Every year up to a few years ago there was a pro-cession from the church to the shrine on CorpusChristi and back again.

Mr. Dan O’Connell, NT, planted trees and had agreat interest in keeping the area trimmed and tidy.

Christy Tierney is the only living member of theoriginal committee and he still has a great interest inthe shrine.

❏ Many thanks to Christy Tierney who helpedme research and compile this article.

–Nora O’Keeffe

The magnificent Ballingarry Shrine pictured shortly after the official blessing.

THE Marian Shrine is the focal point in theaward winning Bishop Murphy Park, set inthe heart of the village and close to St.

Patrick’s Church and the Community Centre.The Park took almost three years to complete

with the help of the Community Council and Fásand, of course, much voluntary labour. The Shrinewas blessed and the Park officially opened onAugust 15, 1989.

Though not one of the “Marian Shrines” the peo-ple of Ardpatrick always wanted their own Shrineand their ambitions were realised on August 15,1989. Very Rev. Joe Kennedy, the then PP, performedthe blessing and Paddy Murphy, a brother of the lateBishop of Limerick, Dr. Henry Murphy, had thehonour of unveiling our beautiful statue. Mgs.Daniel Gallagher, PP, Abbeyfeale, preached the

homily.The statue is life size, cut from Italian white mar-

ble by a County Wexford company, Gorey Stone Art.The statue is set on a rockery and underneath is awaterfall and a rock built pond.

Mass was celebrated at the Shrine on the open-ing evening and every August 15th since. The beau-tiful Shrine and park have won several awards,including a national Tidy Towns Regional Award,Limerick County Council Amenity Award and theBallyhoura County Regional Awards.

The tiny village has a population of 43 and is setin the south east of County Limerick at the foothillsof the Ballyhouras. The parish is on the Cork borderwith Doneraile to the south.

– By Pat Casey

Award winning Ardpatrick Shrineis focal point of village

This beautiful Shrine is the focal point for the village of Ardpatrick

A lovely side view of the Ballynanty Shrine pictured by Bill Hayes at the opening in 1954

Oola Shrine . . . protecting the village from on high.

The following article appeared in Oola - Past andPresent, Easter, 1998:

“Pope Pius XII decreed that 1954 was to be ayear of special devotion to Our Lady, consequently,that year was referred to world-wide as the MarianYear. To mark the occasion thousands of parishesthroughout this country built Marian Grottoes inprominent locations.

“The people of Oola were no exception and thelocal clergy, Rev. Fr. Denis O’Brien, Adm., and Rev.Fr. Theo English, CC, organised meetings with theirparishioners to discuss such a venture. Two possi-bilities were the most favoured – the building of astatue of Our Lady in the centre of the village or asimilar project on top of the Hill. The latter was thechosen option. The community spirit of the peopleof Oola was mobilised over the following months. Asuitable location on the Hill for the statue overlook-ing the village was decided upon, and the owner of

the Hill, Mr. Joe Hickey, willingly gave his permis-sion for the statue to be placed there. A large con-signment of rocks was needed to provide a solidbase. For this purpose, John Hayes’ lorry from thecoal yard, driven by Tom Harding, was used tobring several loads of rock from Kilshane to the topof Oola Hill. Jack Hayes’ tractor and trailer was alsocommissioned for this task. It was a daunting anddangerous undertaking to drive a lorry loaded withrocks up the side of a hill and it took great skill andconcentration on Tom Harding’s part.

“The statue was purchased in France and itarrived at Oola railway station in a goods wagon.The wagon was parked on the siding until all prepa-rations were completed on the hill-top site. A con-crete plinth, 5 ft high and 3 ft square for the statuewas constructed and for this purpose several stronghelpers brought bags of cement on their backs up tothe top of the hill via Billy Lynch’s garden andMaggie Keane’s house.


Our Lady overlooks and protects the people of Oola

Installing the electric cable for the Oola shrine are Willie Quirke, Mick Murphy and Joe Downey

“Preparations were then made to floodlight thestatue. Local electrician Willie Quirke was in chargeof this operation. The light switch was located inWillie’s own house, therefore poles for cables had tobe erected from this point to the site which requiredsome tough digging and rock breaking.

“The spot lights were then located in front of theplinth and the site was ready. The crated statue wascollected from the railway station, loaded on toWillie Godfrey’s lorry and transported to the top ofthe hill with Philly (Reilly) Ryan (Buckley) as thevery capable driver. The statue was then cementedonto its plinth and everything was ready for the bigday.

“On the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady,August 15, 1954, the statue on the hill was blessedand dedicated by Rev. Fr. Theo English in the pres-ence of a large congregation. With the passing oftime and without shelter from the elements the elec-tricity poles became loose and unsafe. The powerhad to be disconnected and Our Lady was left in thedark for a few years. After some time the local com-munity spirit was mustered into action again and itwas decided to lay an underground cable from thepower source up to the statue. This involvedextremely heavy digging through the rocky surfaceof the hill but manpower, armed with picks andshovels was plentiful. The cable was connected to atime switch located in a little hut in TommyFitzgibbon’s field – which was previously owned by

Mick Ryan (Cos). Willie Burns took charge of settingthe time switch for many years.

“In recent times, with the demand for sites fornew houses increasing rapidly, the site on MickRyan’s (Cos) house was sold; the cable to the statuehad to be moved again. Riobard O Ceallaigh ofLimerick County Council very kindly gave permis-sion for the cable to be connected to the street lightsystem on the Old Road. Jimmy Ryan (L) tookcharge of the underground work, while BertieQuirke joined the cable to the new supply sourceand ensured that all ESB safety standards wereadhered to.

“This community owes a debt of gratitude,” thearticle continues, “to the late Joe Hickey who gavehis permission to erect the statue on his land in thefirst instance and to Thomas Harrington (the currentowner of the Hill), to PJ and Joan Bourke andThomas and Olive Ryan through whose propertiesthe underground cable passes; to all those whohelped in the building of the statue in 1954 and to allwho maintained the grotto since.

“The statue on the hill is a prominent landmark.It looks magnificent in its floodlit state by night andis often commented on by travellers of road andrail,” the article concluded by urging people to rallyround again and bring the now dilapidated areaback to its pristine state for the golden jubilee onAugust 15, 2004.

A panoramic view from the statue of Our lady ovelooking Oola village

The Feast of the Assumption on August 15, 1988,was a truly memorable day in the history ofAskeaton when not one, but two, Marian Shrineswere unveiled and blessed.

The Shrine at St. Mary’s Terrace was blessed anddedicated to Our Lady by the Parish Priest, VeryRev. Fr. Michael O’Connor. Following the dedica-tion, concelebrated open air Mass was celebrated byRev. Fr. O’Connor, Rev. Fr. Andy Cheating, CC, andFr. Paul Brick, Askeaton, Wisconsin, USA. TheAmerican Askeaton was established in Faminetimes by a group of Askeaton emigrants. Theyworked mostly on the railways and in shipyardsuntil they raised enough money to move west.

The statue was donated by Tim and Breda Dally,Castle Supermarket, Askeaton. They were both verymuch involved in the life of the community. Theirgift was very much appreciated by the committee.

Unfortunately, Tim died some years ago following aroad traffic accident, RIP.

The committee was set up in June 1987 andincluded Paddy Sax McCarthy, Paddy Gallagher,Joe McCarthy, Mrs. McCarthy, Mary Barron, Mrs.Susie Barron, Mrs. Ena Devereaux, Breda Kelly, NorKelly, Tim Daly, Jimmy Sweeney, Mrs. MaureenAllen, Mrs. Helen Behan. Paddy Gallagher, CoisSionna Credit Union was elected treasurer; BredaKelly, postmistress, Askeaton Post Office, was elect-ed secretary. The priority at the first meeting was toacquire a site. With this in mind they contacted thelocal Councillor, Kevin Sheahan, who made repre-sentation to Limerick County Council with regardto the vacant quarry in St. Mary’s Terrace. TheCounty Council was very forthcoming about theidea even to the point that one of their employees,Jack Cronin, drew up the plans for the Shrine.

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Two shrines blessed on the same day in Askeaton

Huge crowds turned up for the 1988 unveiling of the Askeaton Shrine at St. Francis Avenue.

With the site secured the committee set aboutraising funds. Several fund-raising events wereheld, including a church gate collection, a social inthe Shannon House in Foynes and raffles withprizes donated by Mrs. Nora Downes and BredaKelly. Letters requesting donations were sent to allthe local firms and business premises as well as tothe local clubs and organisations. The response wasexcellent which encouraged the committee in theirefforts. A rock breaker at £22 per hour had to bebrought in to prepare the site. Top soil at £90 perload was transported and Liscannor slates at £50 persquare yard were laid in the form of a chalice fromthe entrance to the Altar. The gates were made byEamon Murphy. The committee invited some of thelocal men to help with the work.

The following volunteered their services: PatsyWoulfe, Eamon Madigan, Noel Kelly, Mick Harte,Liam O’Sullivan, Michael Walsh. Maurice Carrig ofCreeves who had returned home from NewZealand, built the boundary wall with the help ofMichael Walsh, St. Mary’s Tce. Donie Fitzsimonstransported slates from Liscannor to Askeaton. Itwas decided to opt for flood lighting instead of ahalo on the statue. The ESB were contacted to installthe power. Paddy Sax McCarthy purchased themicrophones. Gerard Blackwell, draughtsman,

drew a set of plans with regard to the location of thestatue in the Shrine. This plan was accepted by thecommittee.

On the day of dedication, Fr. O’Connor thankedall the people who assisted in the magnificent devel-opment. Open air Mass has been celebrated at theShrine on the 15th of August over the years. Theannual Corpus Christi procession from the church isheld every year to the Shrine. Every evening duringthe month of May the Rosary is recited at 7.15 andduring the summer months every Tuesday evening.

The Tidy Towns committee, with the help of theFás workers have maintained the Shrine over theyears.

The lighting has been maintained by PadraigManning.

The County Council provided shrubs and flow-ers to enhance the appearance of the shrine. PaddyGallagher who was treasurer until his death inSeptember, 1999, spent many hours with Nora Kellyweeding and cutting the grass. I am quite sure he isenjoying the fruits of his labour now in his heaven-ly home. Under the direction of Michael McCarthy,the Fás workers have stepped in to take Paddy’splace and they do a marvellous job preparing thegrounds for the annual Corpus Christi procession.

Tommy O’Donnell helps keep the St. Francis Avenue shrine in magnificent condition

In a pastoral letter issued by the Irish bishopssome years ago they encouraged Catholics to prayfrequently at Marian Shrines and to reflect on theVirgin Mary’s role as proclaimed in Vatican II – Thefamily who prays together stays together.

St. Francis Avenue Shrine:There is no doubt that it is unique to have two

Marian Shrines in the same parish but in the MarianYear of 1988, not only was the Shrine at St. Mary’sTerrace unveiled and blessed but earlier in the day,there was a Shrine blessed at St. Francis Avenue.Such was the dedication to Our Lady by the peopleof Askeaton that the residents of St. Francis Avenue,which is on the east side of the village, decided thatthey should have a shrine of their own. At 12 noonon August 15, Fr. Andy Cheating, CC, with the assis-

tance of Parish Priest, Fr. Michael O’Connor and theRev. Patrick Towers, Rector, Church of Ireland,blessed and dedicated the Shrine. The entire popu-lation of St. Francis Avenue and surrounding areasattended the dedication.

The residents formed a committee to raise fundsto pay for the building of the Shrine. A house tohouse collection was held and the men gave of theirtime and labour freely. Over the years TommyO’Donnell and Mick Barry maintained the Shrinetending the grass cutting and planting of flowers.During the month of May, the Rosary is recitedevery evening at 6 o’c. This year, on August 21, aspecial Mass will be held at the Shrine to celebratethe 40th anniversary of St. Francis Avenue. The timeis 3 o’c.

– Breda Kelly, Askeaton

The superbly appointed Askeaton Shrine at St.Mary’s Terrace

THE VALUE of enclosed retreats wasexplained and stressed in an impressive ser-mon, delivered to the men of the Arch-

Confraternity of the Holy Family attached to theRedemptorist Church at the weekly meetings lastweek” The Limerick Leader told its readers onMonday, July 26, 1954. The preacher was Very Rev.Father Gerard Reynolds, C.Ss.R., Rector of Mount StAlphonsus, who was dealing with the presentation of‘Oaklands’, North Circular Road, to theRedemptorist Order in Limerick as a Retreat House.This gift he described as Limerick’s Memorial toMary and Mary’s sons, the Redemptorists.

Father Reynolds said: — You have heard fromyour Director that a Committee was formed from themen of Limerick, with the wholehearted approval ofHis Lordship, the Bishop, to present a Retreat Houseto the Redemptorists, to commemorate the centenaryof their coming to Limerick. You were then asked tovote where you would like the Retreat House locat-ed. All this led to the purchase of “Oaklands”, NorthCircular Road - a beautiful mansion standing onabout six acres of land.

This house was formerly owned by the ProtestantBishop of Limerick and before that by Mr Tidmarsh,whose wife was sister of Father P.P. Murray, C.Ss.R. aformer director of Mount St Alphonsus College - soyou see it is coming back to its own.

To the people of Limerick and the friends of theC.Ss.R. and especially to the energetic committee, we,Redemptorists are most grateful for the princely andtruly Catholic gift. We are deeply grateful also to HisLordship, the Bishop for his wholehearted and gra-cious approval of the presentation. It is to be present-ed to us with one object in view, that theRedemptorists would conduct enclosed Retreats forthe men of Limerick and the surrounding areas. Nomore apostolic work could be thought of - a worktruly Redemptoristic and in keeping with our Ruleand traditions. In the Continent, the Redemptoristswere pioneers in this great work, e.g. in Holland, I,

myself visited 12 Retreat Houses, the majority ofwhich are conducted by the C.Ss.R. After the war theDutch Bishops recommenced the Enclosed RetreatsMovement as the best means of renewing theChristian Life. The Bishops said: — Build yourRetreat Houses first”. This is only in keeping with themind of the Papacy. During the past 400 years, fromthe Pontificate of Pope Paul 111, 1534, to the presentPope Pius X11, there have been over 900 official eccle-siastical pronouncements on Enclosed Retreats, astriking and conclusive proof of the vital importanceof this form of Apostolate.Of the 38 Popes who haveoccupied the chair of St Peter during these 400 years,the late Pope Pius X1 can be singled out with hisother titles as the Pope of Enclosed Retreats.

This great Pope is himself responsible for 133 offi-cial pronouncements on Enclosed Retreats. Whilestill Bishop of Milan he published an important his-torical paper on St Charles Borromeo and the RetreatMovement. As you know, St Charles Borromeo wasthe first to establish a House for Enclosed Retreats.Pope Pius X1 did all he could to promote theEnclosed Retreat and contributed generously to thebuilding of these Retreat Houses. Addressing a groupof young promoters for Enclosed Retreats, he said:-“Enclosed Retreats open up and make easy the waythat leads to God - with His comforting and benefi-cent graces - with His blessings and favours. To pro-cure these blessings for others is a work that surpass-es all others. To go about in search of souls in order toput them in the way of such blessings is truly anexquisite act of charity.

No wonder then that the men of Limerick, deeplyconscious of the value and need of enclosed Retreatsshould have procured this great benefit for their city,and it is our great honour to be asked to forward thismovement in your midst. It is only becoming that theRetreat House should be called Our Lady ofPerpetual Succour Retreat House as it will be openedduring the Marian Year, it is Limerick’s Memorial toMary and Mary’s sons, the Redemptorists.

The value of Enclosed Retreats:Limerick’s memorial to Mary

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“

Some seven years ago we had the honour ofopening a similar House in the Diocese of Downand Conor and since then over 14,000 men havemade Enclosed Retreats. These men have come fromevery walk of life. The professionals came - doctors,lawyers, teachers, bankers, vocational groups suchas Irish Transport, electricians and cinema workers.There were Catholic Organisations such as C.Y.M.S.,Y.C.W., Knights, Pioneers, legion and Vincent dePaul. There were parish groups, GAA and youthgroups. Then there were Retreats for husbands tohear special lectures on their obligations and otherRetreats for those about to marry. You see from thisthat the Enclosed Retreat movement is not for thehonoured few, but for the great masses of labouringmen - the factory worker, the butcher, the baker andthe candlestick maker.

You ask what is an Enclosed Retreat? It is thegetting away from this workaday world for a littlewhile - say two to four days. It is spending sometime in God’s House a Retreat House - where thereis silence, peace and quiet. It is taking an opportuni-ty to turn your thoughts from the things that arepassing to the things that are lasting - God - yoursoul - eternity. You get a fresh look at your life - yourown life. You cannot do this in your own home, youmust get away from the world. Never, in the history

of man was the world’s voice louder than today. It isheard on the radio, television, newspaper, socialgatherings. Its theme is the importance of food,drink, comfort, romance, vacation, travel, healthand popularity. There are people in the world whohave the best of these and they are not happy. Theyare missing something. They were born with a spir-itual urge to sex or hunger. That spiritual hungerwill be satisfied in the Enclosed Retreat. “Thou hastmade us for Thyself, O Lord” cried our StAugustine.

To pave the way to this spiritual awakening youwill get first relief from business and family worries,relief of mind from a full discussion of your prob-lems with a Redemptorist Father, relief of con-science from a well prepared confession and ferventHoly Communion. You say you have no problems?Ah! The reason is that you are not strictly honestwith yourself or you have become dangerouslyblind to the important goal of your life. Perhaps youhave a family trouble, or a moral problem has comeinto your business. Again it is possible for husbandsor sons to go along for years with the same unpleas-ant faults, marring the peace of their home unlessthey take time to look themselves over during anEnclosed Retreat.

Some of the men take a break during their enclosed retreat, c. 1957

Are you going to make one? We invite you? Youare young - that is the very reason for the invitation.You are at the crossroads of life and now is the timefor this Enclosed Retreat. Another says that he is set-tled in life - make one then to know the obligationsof your state of life. You are getting on in life, you sayAh!, a very important retreat, one to settle things foreternity.

You have no time to make one? Surely out of the5 2 weekends you can spare one for your soul; if youhave a little faith to realise, your soul is more impor-tant than the body. Make your resolution now - “I’llmake an Enclosed Retreat each year”.

“But how will I afford it?” To meet the smallpurse - so that this Retreat House may always be forthe people, rich and poor, the minimum offering of10/- is laid down. Knowing that this sum cannotpossible cover expenses, you can give more if youwish. You put your offering into an envelope andseal it, then drop it into a box. Only God will know.

Finally, you ask me why make an EnclosedRetreat? The Mission is designed to convert, theEnclosed Retreat to form an Apostolate. The missionmakes men Christians, the Enclosed Retreat makesthem standard bearers for the Christian Faith.Missions rescue backsliders and rise the generalpiety of the parish, but they do not train a band ofapostles. The true school of Catholic Lay Apostles is

the Lay Retreat.Yes, from the Enclosed Retreat, well made men

come forth aflame with zeal, eager only for thespread in every way of the Kingdom of Christ.Apostles. Lay Apostles, such is the crying need of theChurch today. Apostles in the workshop, in theoffice, in the factory, in the train, in the bus, above allin the home. Here is where the Enclosed Retreatcomes into its own. It is a school of Apostles, a PowerHouse, changing men from indifferent Catholics intolive-wires in the Christian Campaign.

Many after their first experience would nevermiss their yearly Enclosed Retreat. “I had no idea”said one “what a Retreat meant. I made one and nowI say: all men who possess the faith ought to make anEnclosed Retreat every year”. A soldier writes:“From the Retreat I got courage to profess my faithopenly and now in the barracks I stick up for it whenothers mock it. I’m doing what I can to interest oth-ers in the movement”.

“This is the happiest weekend of my life” wroteanother. Yes, it is happiness the world cannot give, ortake away. This happiness is for you my dear men. Itwill bring solace, healing and hope to your hearts,truth and enlightenment to your minds, goodness,strength and resolutions to your wills. Amen.

The Retreat House “Oaklands,” on the North Circular Road with a group of men on an Enclosed Retreat c. 1956

Pork Butchers present £1,000 to Dr. O’Neill

On Wednesday, December 8, 1954, the closingday of the historic Marian Year, the Limerick PorkButchers Society presented the Bishop of Limerick,Most Rev. Dr. P. O’Neill, with a cheque for £1,000.The money was part of the fund for the renovationof Our Lady’s Shrine Altar at St. John’s Cathedral.The Amalgamated Limerick Pork Butchers Society,since its foundation has shown a deep-rooted lovefor the Mother of God, the Limerick Leader wroteshortly after.

“For the past 64 years,” the paper said, “theLimerick Pork Butchers Society has looked upon theFeast of the Assumption each year as one of theirmost important days. It has, during all that time,observed Our Lady’s Day on August 15th as a holi-day and when it fell on a week day it was observedat their own expense,” the report concluded.

The presentation of the cheque was made by Mr.John Bennis and by Mr. George Judge, chairmanand secretary of the Pork Butchers Society.

The story began for the Park Butchers when the

then Bishop of Limerick, Dr. Edward ThomasO’Dwyer intervened in a seven week strike in thefour Limerick meat factories, Dennys, O’Mara’s,Matterson’s and Shaws. He presided at a publicmeeting where he discussed settlement proposalswith the butchers who were by this stage at the endof their tether.

Sitting astride his horse in Mulgrave Street hetook a head count, those for, on one side, thoseagainst, on the other.

As a result of the settlement the society decidedthat in future August 15th – the Feast of theAssumption – would be a holiday taken at themen’s own expense. They maintained this customright up to the end.

Dr. O’Dwyer, for his efforts in settling the strikewas elected honorary president of theAmalgamated Limerick Pork Butchers Societywhich we are told, was formed during the sevenweek long strike. Every succeeding Bishop ofLimerick also held that honour.

Management and Clerical Staff of W. J. Shaw & Sons, Limerick, pictured during the Strike of 1890: Standing: Jas. McMahon (volunteer), JoeNoonan, (gateman), Hugh Kearney, L. Leonard, Stephen Sullivan (foreman), Pat O’Donoghue (cashier), H. Eakins, Booty Collins, J. H. Hallowell.Seated: Tom Browne (office manager), E. Angley, F. S. King, Sir A. W. Shaw, Jas. T. Shaw, C. H. Gubbins, Thos. Hanrahan (traveller), J. Keyes,P. Sullivan (asst. foreman), J. Stack. On ground: A. H. Prossor, J. O’Flynn (office boy), Joe Welsh. Though the quality of the picture is not greatit is nevertheless worthy of inclusionwith the above article. ❏ Picture supplied by Michael Mulcahy

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ON SUNDAY afternoon at 3 p.m. a long cher-ished dream of John O’Dea, Patrickswell,Co. Limerick, will come true, the Limerick

Chronicle wrote on the Saturday evening before theofficial unveiling.

“It will be the climax to many months of volun-tary effort by the residents of this well-known vil-lage on the main road from Limerick to Cork andthe Shrine, of very simple but impressive design,will enhance the surrounding countryside testifyingto the strong bond of faith that unites the people ofthe district with the Mother of God,” the Chroniclestated.

It continued: “The story of the Shrine begansome years ago when John O’Dea became ill andwas out of work for a number of years. During thatperiod in hospital he entered for a national slogancompetition and won a prize of £250. It was thenthat he got the idea of the Shrine and promised thathe would contribute towards its erection as an offer-ing of thanksgiving for his recovery.

“Although he had a wife and five young chil-dren to support and had been some years out ofwork, he decided to devote £50 of his prizemoneytowards the cost of the Shrine. The residents, struckby his generosity and his sincerity, gave voluntaryassistance to make the Shrine the reality it is today.

“On Sunday, Very Rev. E. Canon Punch, PP,Mungret Crecora, will unveil the Shrine. Prior to theceremony, there will be a procession of school chil-dren of the district to the Shrine and the ceremonywill be followed by Solemn Benediction. The choirof Raheen Church will be in attendance and peoplefrom the surrounding districts will be there to addto the expected total of 2,000 of a congragation.

“It will be a day to remember in the village anda happy day of a renewal of devotion to the motherof God. Liscannor slabs have been used in the over-all design and a suitable plaque commemorates theevent,” the Chronicle wrote.

The following workmen assisted in the buildingof the Shrine:

Jack Spaight, William O’Brien, MCC; PatsyFoley, John Curtin, Anthony Darcy, Michael Darcy,Martin Fenton, John Mulqueen, Sean O’Donnell,

Liam Burke, Thomas Murphy, Jimmy Cusack, JimDonovan, Jimmy Hayes, Jackie O’Dea, Willie Foster,Matthew O’Brien, Sean Tuohy, Dom Punch, JackReidy, Noel Fitzgerald (who supplied his tractorand trailer for drawing of stones for the founda-tion); Dan Sweeney (supplied casing boards); Mr.William Fenton, Mr. Frank McDermott(Contractors) who supplied the concrete mixer;George O’Riordan. James Mulqueen, P. J. Brennan,Denis Conway, Patrick Lynch, John Cusack, HenryCusack, Michael O’Dea, Willie Bourke, MichaelReidy, Frank McMahon, Simon Kerley, Joe Waters,Johnny Carey, Tom Enright, Ben Ryan, Tom Byrnes,Mark Lynch, Joe Conway, John Cregan (bulldozer).

The ladies who collected funds were Mrs.Punch, Mrs. Conway, Mrs. McKenna, Mrs. Reidy,Miss Lynch, Mrs. Maguire, Mrs. Piggott, Mrs.Dillane, Mrs. Curtin, Mrs. O’Brien, Mrs. Mann, Mrs.Fitzgerald and Mrs. O’Riordan.

The Shrine, the Chronicle wrote, is being plantedwith flowers by gardeners Pat Lynch and CharlieKeane. The railings were supplied by Mr. Mullane,Adare; the painting was carried out by McCarthyBros. and the slabs supplied by Thomas O’Leary;the stone work by Michael McCarthy and theplaque donated by Mr. O’Doherty.

A dream comes true for John in Patrickswell

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John O’Dea . . . pictured in more recent years. It was his fullreturn to health that prompted him to organise the building ofthe Patrickswell Shrine

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RATHKEALE’S Marian Shrine, situated at the top ofChurch Street, on the Mount, celebrates its goldenjubilee this year.

Very Rev. Canon Carroll, PP, Rev. Fr. Costelloe,Rev. Fr. Enright all gone to their eternal reward,were some of the people who got the idea of build-ing such a Shrine in honour of Our Lady for theMarian Year of 1954. The Enright family at theMount (Mount Southwell), very kindly donated theland for the project. The idea was mooted in 1953and completed in time for the Feast of theAssumption of Our Lady on the 15th of August,1954. People like the Tierney brothers, Rockfield;Sean Guiry, Sonny and Donie Long and Sean Lynch;Stephen McDonnell, Jack Culhane, Larry Keyes,Willie Quinn, and Jim Leahy, among many others,were all involved.

After much discussion, it was decided that theshrine would take the shape of the undercarriage ofan aeroplane. The cement was mixed across theroad near Denis Hayes’ house and barrowed across.Most of the work was done in the evenings afterwork and was done on a voluntary basis with love

and dedication. John Dinage and friends did muchof the work by hand and on completion of the con-crete work flowers and shrubs were planted toenhance the look of the site. The statue of Our Ladywas borne in procession from St. Mary’s Church tothe Shrine site were it was placed in its grotto. Twokneelers were built in front of the Shrine.

One of the biggest crowds at a procession ever inRathkeale attended this solemn occasion. JamesLeahy, Church Street, was appointed caretaker/gar-dener and the Shrine won many tidy towns road-side garden awards down through the years. TheShrine is a monument to the dedication of the peo-ple who built it and maintained it over the last 50years. We should be very proud here in Rathkeale ofthe work done by our predecessors and it is hopedthat we will have a procession led by the brass bandand that the people will attend in great numbers tohonour the golden jubilee of this great occasion notalone to honour Our Lady but also to recognise thegreat work done by those that built and maintainedour beautiful Shrine.

–Tim Shiels, Rathkeale, 2004

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The statue is carried in procession through Rathkeale to the site where it was installed in its Grotto ❏ Pictures TIM SHIELS

Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick boasts one of the lovliest Shrines. It was built in the Marian Year of 1954 and the inscription reads: “Erected bythe Garrison & Civilions of this Barracks to commemorate the Marian Year, 1954.” Leading the building work were Sgts. Jim Reilly and JohnRyan. ❏ Picture: Cyril Shanahan

Some of the people who gave their time and labour to build the Shrine at Broadford. ❏ Pictures submitted by Tom Aherne whose contribution to this publication wa enormous

Tommie Reidy outlines a brief history of the spritualadvancement of the people of Broadford from earlyChristian times right up to the blessing of their ownMarian Shrine on August 15, 1998

BROADFORD, situated in West Limerick and nowpart of the Dromocllogher/Broadford Parish, hashad a very long tradition associated with theBlessed Virgin Mary and the following is a brief out-line of that devotion:

Bishop Cornelius O’Dea of Limerick issued ataxation role for his diocese in 1410 which gives aninsight into the beginnings of Christianity in MeanMumhan (Middle Munster, the old name ofLimerick). Each parish is listed and in some casesthe Saint to whom the church is dedicated and thefeast day given. The parish church ofKilloughalehane (the old name of Broadford parish)in the Deanery of Ardagh, was dedicated to “BeataVirgo Maria ad Nives” and the feast day wasAugust 5th. The oral history preserved in Seanchasna nDaoine came down intact in the parish andrecords the origins of the old place names.Christianity was introduced in the mid sixth centu-ry from the nearby foundation of St. Ita at Cill Íde.The people in the Broadford area could not agree onthe location of their church so prayers were offeredto the Mother of God for guidance. That night anunseasonal fall of snow came and the following daypeople could see the outline of a church clearlymarked in the snow. The church was built on themarked site and when completed it was called CillAchadh Ó Liatháin (Killoughlehane – the Church ofLehane’s Field).

At the synod of Rath Breasail 1111, the IrishChurch was re-organised from a monastic to adiocesan structure. The parish boundaries werelater drawn up and the churches dedicated to saints.In the language of the people the local church wasdedicated to Muire na Sneachta, later Anglicised toOur Lady of the Snows.

In the calendar of the universal church the 5th ofAugust is the feast day of the dedication of theBasillica of St. Mary Major. This great church wasbuilt by Pope Celestine I to celebrate the victory oforthodoxy at the council of Ephesus in 431 AD. Thecouncil confirmed the ancient Christian belief thatMary is the Mother of God. Seven hundred yearslater when the churches of the newly established

parishes in the Diocese of Limerick were being ded-icated the Bishop allocated 5th of August as theParish feast day to Kill Achadh Ó Lehane and inrecognition of the tradition surrounding the build-ing of the first church, placed the parish under theprotection of the B.V.M. AD Nives.

Continuing the devotion to the Virgin Marywhen Pope John Paul II declared 1997-98 the MarianYear, a local committee was established to erect ashrine to mark the year and the long Marian tradi-tion of Broadford parish.

The site chosen was a low-lying area across theroad from the present day church of Our Lady of theSnows. All the ground work, including concrete pil-lars and beams which brought the site to road levelwas carried out by voluntary labour. The site wasthen filled in concrete, slabs laid and surroundingwalls built. The statue was put in place and wasblessed on the 15th of August, the final day of theMarian Year.

The unveiling and blessing was performed byDr. Seamus Ambrose, PP, and Fr. Tom Crawford CC.

❏ I am grateful to Seamus O Suillebháin, our localhistorian for the history attached to our parish. Seamuswas also one of the leading lights in the building of theMarian Shrine in Broadford.

– Tommie Reidy, 2004

Broadford Shrine blessed on August 15, 1998

Workers of Irelandunite . . .

DURING the Marian Year of 1954 the workers ofIreland organised a “Workers Gift to Mary” fundaimed at collecting a sum for presentation to theHoly Father for the charitable distribution at thePontiff’s discretion. In all a sum of £13,052 wascollected and at a ceremony in Dublin’s MansionHouse, a cheque for that amount was handed overto the Papel Nuncio His Excellence, the Most Rev.Dr. Levanne, by the Most Rev. Dr. John CharlesMcQuaid, Archbishop of Dublin.

This Parnell Street family had their shop decorated for the Eucharistic Congress of 1932.

Hard at work filling in the site of the Broadford Marian Shrine. Jim Hartnett, Dan McCarthy, Sean Foley, Garry Enright, Tommie Reidy, SeamusO’Sullivan, and David O’Keeffe, chairman of the community council. In front is Tommie Reidy. The picture was taken in April 1988.

THE following article was published in the LimerickLeader of Saturday, September 14, 1935. While the HolyShrine at Nicker, Pallasgreen, is not necessarily a MarianShrine, it is well worthy of its place in this publication.Even today, in an age of disinterest in things religious,large numbers still visit the magnificent Shrine. Thanksto Ger O’Connell for supplying me with the article andfor going to the bother of taking the pictures printed here-under.

About five thousand people were present atPallasgreen, Co. Limerick on Sunday, to witness theinspiring ceremony of the solemn blessing of thenew Grotto to Our lady at Nicker. Seldom has sucha distinguished gathering - high church dignitaries,Dail Deputies, the Mayor of Limerick, representa-tives of the various public bodies and the generalpublic – all come to pay tribute to the wonderfulwork of Rev. Fr Ryan, PP, the beloved pastor ofNicker and Templebraden, and his flock.

The occasion was a happy one for those respon-sible for the setting up of such a magnificent Shrineto Our Lady, for it is the material reflection of twoand a half years of unspared effort on their part. Tothem, however, it was a labour of love - this tremen-

dous work of hewing out of a mountainside a repli-ca of the world famous Lourdes Grotto.

The idea of setting up the Shrine was first con-ceived by Fr Ryan and when he mentioned it to hisflock there was a most enthusiastic response to hisappeal. It was an arduous task that lay both beforepastor and people - the conversion of a solid rockformation at the rere of Nicker church into a Grottoat Pallasgreen, but to have one that would not besecond to any as a replica of the Lourdes one. Theircherished hope was fully realised. The natural com-position of the selected site lent itself to make a mostperfect replica and the transforming work carriedout by the parishioners is something to be mar-velled at.

How pleased they must have felt as this stolidface of an Irish mountainside began to take shapeand resemble that hallowed spot where the BlessedVirgin appeared to little Bernadette many years ago.How happy and thankful they must have felt onSunday when their Grotto was solemnly blessed byhis Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Harty, Archbishop ofCashel and Emly, and when people came from farand near to pay tribute to and appreciate such awonderful work.

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The magnificent Shrine at Nicker, Pallasgreen.

By providing for County Limerick such a splen-did Shrine to Our Lady, Fr Ryan and the people ofNicker and district have accomplished somethingfor which they will long be remembered. Future gen-erations will recall with pride and pleasure this glo-rious work conceived by Fr Ryan and carried out bytheir forefathers and the reward of the organiserswill be all that they desire - the prayers of a deeplygrateful people.

The arrangements for last Sunday’s ceremoniessynchronised in perfection with the great undertak-ing that had been carried out by the organisers. Theywere all that could be desired in making in a most fit-ting manner the inauguration ceremony, and a hugecrowd availed of the opportunities provided forattending. Special trains and buses brought a bigcomplement to be present at the ceremony, and oth-ers arrived in private and hackney motors cars andpush bikes.

The dignified and fitting manner in which thelarge gathering took part in the inauguration cere-mony showed how deeply moved they were by thewhole procedure. It was with regrets that they tooktheir departure that evening from the picturesquelocality that housed such a beautiful shrine, but withtheir minds fully made up to pay a return visit in thenear future. It was, indeed, a day of inspiring scenesand one that will ever leave memories of the auspi-cious occasion firmly fixed in the minds of thosewho were fortunate to be present.

The Grotto is charmingly situated at the foot ofKnockgreine, the Hill of the Sun, and it is doubtful ifa more ideally suitable location could be found forthe Shrine. The appear and charm of the Grotto andits environments are deeply impressive, and the peo-ple of Nicker and district, who will forever have it intheir midst, are to be envied to a very great extent;into this humble Co. Limerick Village, has beenbrought the symbol of all that is divinely pure andlovely.

Nicker was profusely decorated for the greatoccasion on Sunday, Papal and Eucharistic flags, reli-gious scrolls and banners were everywhere in evi-dence, and a considerable amount of greenery pro-vided a diffusion of attractive colour. Bunting andstreamers decorated the houses and there was a lineof flags across the crest of Knockgreine Hill to directthe procession to the Mass Rock. In every possiblemanner the people expressed their joy and happi-ness.

Several bands were present from Limerick Cityand Tipperary. They played sacred hymns, whichwere sung by the congregation and also discoursedchoir selections and national airs.

After the inauguration function, visitors spentquite a time inspecting and admiring the Grotto,they also took away pieces as souvenirs and bottlesand flasks of the stream water.

A high degree of praise is due to the reception

and decorating committees for the faultless mannerin which they carried out their duties. Even thoughthe former sent out a general invitation to the cere-mony and expected a big influx of visitors onSunday, they were more than pleasantly surprisedthat the actual numbers present exceeded all expec-tations. Everything was in readiness for the visitorsand a band of courteous stewards were in atten-dance all day. There was also a five acre park oppo-site the church in which motor cars were accommo-dated.

One of the most impressive features of the cere-monies was the procession to the Mass Rock.Composed of the Children of Mary in their attractivedresses and various confraternities and bands, theprocession wound its way up the slopes ofKnockgreine to the ancient and historic Mass Rock,where Mass was celebrated in the Penal Days.

The other ceremonies consisted of the blessing ofthe Grotto by Dr Harty; the celebration of SolemnPontifical High mass by Most Rev Dr Kinane, Bishopof Waterford and the preaching of appropriate ser-mons by Rev JA Cleary, CSs.R, Clonard Monastery,Belfast and Rev J Hayes, CC, Tipperary.

The opening ceremony was the solemn blessingof the Grotto and specially reserved seats were pro-vided for distinguished visitors such as the Mayor ofLimerick (Mr JM Casey), Corporation of Limerick(including Ald. D Bourke, TD., Ald J Reidy, TD andMr MJ Keyes, TD), Mr GC Bennett, TD., Mr JMcCormack, Chairman, Limerick County Council;Mr L O’Donnell, County Secretary, Mr TF Ryan,County Surveyor, Mr JP Geraghty, Limerick CityManager together with representatives of variouspublic bodies of the City and County of Limerick.

An especially big contingent was that of theMen’s Sodality attached to the Reparation Convent,Limerick. They were three hundred strong and car-ried a beautiful shield and interesting bannerinscribed to the Blessed Virgin as Queen of Ireland.This banner has been blessed by His Holiness thePope and is the first of its kind in this country.

The Mayor and members of the LimerickCorporation attended in State, being attired in theirnew scarlet robes.

When Dr Harty had blessed the Grotto heascended the pulpit which formed a permanent partof the ornamental railing in front of the Shrine andaddressed the big congregation.

During the course of his address Dr Harty paidtribute to the clergy and people for the great workthey had accomplished; from a natural formation ofrock had been wrought a very beautiful Shrine toOur Lady, and it had impressed his grace as the near-est approach he had yet witnessed to the famousShrine at Lourdes. Such a Shrine would remind themof the great spiritual significance of Lourdes and ofthe enormous blessings and benefits obtainedthrough the intercession of the Mother of God.

She was their Mother also and was ever readynow in heaven to help them through all their diffi-culties. They would come to this Grotto from time totime and they would pray to her and tell her of theirdisabilities, difficulties and temptations and She,seated on the right hand of her Divine Son, wouldundoubtedly help them. This Shrine too wouldremind them of the wonderful traditional venera-tion of Ireland for Our Lady. Down through the cen-turies, through the periods of sorrow, of prosperityand of persecution their Irish people had alwayspossessed a wonderful faith in their veneration forOur Lady. That veneration was brought here by StPatrick, whose coming followed closely on thesolemn Papel definition of the divine maternity ofOur Lady, which had been received so enthusiasti-cally throughout the entire Catholic world. Eversince that day when St Patrick came to Ireland theIrish people had been loyally faithful to Our Lady.

One of the most beautiful devotions they hadcherished was the Holy Rosary, to which they hadfaithfully adhered in the dark days of persecutionwhen they were prohibited from attending Massand were hunted in their own land. The Shrine theyhad erected would remind them of the originalshrine to Our Lady at Lourdes where She workedmiracles today in favour of her clients - not onlyphysical miracles but spiritual miracles especially.Many persons went there to be cured but everyone

who went there with a faithful heart derived somebenefit, at least from their visit to that wonderfulShrine. At Lourdes there was an incription“Through Mary to Jesus” and his Grace was satis-fied to see this same inscription there before thevery beautiful Grotto altar. When they loved andhonoured Mary they would love and honour herDivine Son, Jesus, also.

His Grace then imparted his blessing to the con-gregation, following which the Holy Sacrifice of theMass was offered up most solemnly. The peoplestood as the Most Rev. celebrant preceded by cross-bearers and acolytes and other members of the cler-gy passed through their ranks.

Most Rev Dr Harty, Archbishop of Cashel andEmly presided at the Mass, the celebrant of whichwas Most Rev Dr Kinane, Bishop of Waterford; thedeacon being Rev M Davin, CC and the sub-deacon,Rev R Power, CC, Rev T O’Connor, CC (Thurles)was master of ceremonies.

In the sanctuary were Monsignor J Nolan, PP,VG., Tipperary, Right Rev. Innocent Ryan, Dean ofCashel, Very Rev. Canon Ryan, PP, Knocklong, Veryrev Canon Lanigan, Emly, Very Rev. Fr Mulcahy, PP,Ballybricken, Very Rev. M O’Connor, PP Doon, VeryRev J Hennessy, Provincial OSA, Limerick, Rev MKennedy, CC, Knocklong. The music of the Masswas beautifully rendered by the Nicker choir underD Bowman, NT.

A close-up of the shrine at Nicker in Pallasgreen. ❏ Pictures GERARD O’CONNELL

At the conclusion of the Mass, Rev JA Cleary,CSsR, Clonard Monastery, Belfast, said that from thevery dawn of history, Almighty God had command-ed men to observe certain days and seasons withspecial religious ceremonies. He had also chosenparticular places to be the scenes of wonderful man-ifestations of His mercy and His power. In the daysof old, Our Most Holy Redeemer chose to spend Hismortal life in Palestine, bestowing upon it the bless-ing of His presence. In our own day He had select-ed a tiny obscure village in southern France andthere for nearly 80 years had poured forth gracesand blessings at the sound of His mother’s voice.When Our Lady visited Cana of Gallilee, her DivineSon, at her request, performed His first miracle andnow by her visit to the little French village, she hadmade the Grotto of Lourdes one of the holiest placeson earth, a shrine to which a million pilgrimagestravelled every year, where the diseases of the bodyand soul were cured. They were gathered heretoday around another Grotto of Our lady, built byloving care of priests and people to resemble theGrotto of Lourdes. There also the image ofHeaven’s Queen had been raised aloft to lift theminds of the people to heavenly things; the altartoo, had been blessed by the church and consecrat-ed by the celebration of the Solemn Sacrifice. TheBlessed Virgin looked down upon them and in herloving kindness would obtain from her Son thegranting of all their prayers and make this spot aplace of pilgrimage like another Lourdes.

Fr Cleary related the story of Lourdes and saidthat the history of all the ages was fitted with the

glories of the Virgin Immaculate. In the garden ofEden she was foretold by the voice of God Himself.In the opening pages of the Sacred Scriptures it wastold how the Almighty Creator at the moment of thefall of our first parents, spoke to the infernal serpentwho had brought about their ruin and announcedthe coming of a woman who was destined to over-throw the powers of hell.

What she did far away in the Grotto of Lourdesshe could do in this Grotto of theirs. The very nameof the Virgin Immaculate was a sermon on purity, itwas a reproach to the world around them, whichhad almost become insane in its unbridled thirst forpleasure in a world which pampered and idealisedand almost adored the flesh was steady falling backto the nakedness and unblushing sensuality ofpaganism. Above the deluge of uncleanliness theVirgin of Lourdes beckoned them to approach herby imitating her and praying to her. They shouldpray then to the Queen of Heaven at the Shrine thathad been dedicated that day. What Our ladydeclared to Bernadette, she declared to them thatday.

“Penance, Penance, Penance” three separatetimes, she urged it. Modesty in speech, purity inthought, in reading, dress, and above all in amuse-ments. Alas! only too often their places of amuse-ment were the graveyards where the purity of Irishmen and maidens lay dead and buried. Happywould Ireland be if every Irish woman modelled herlife and conduct on the example of Mary, and ifevery Irishman beheld in every maiden an image,however faint and feeble of the Maiden of Lourdes.

A section of the crowd recite the Rosary at the unveiling of the Mungret Shrine

“Pray then to the Queen of Heaven” he conclud-ed. May she bless the prelates who have honouredthis ceremony today, may she bless the zealouspriests and people who have raised the Shrine, mayshe reward all those who have come to pay her hon-our and in particular, the Parliamentary andMunicipal representatives of the ancient city andcounty of Limerick.

Rev Fr Hayes, in the course of his sermon at theMass Rock said “standing by this spot of SacredCeremonies, our hearts beat today with joy as welook over the Golden Vale and realise the victory offailure. Every ruin tells its tale of suffering enduredmore eloquently than the pages of history.Abington, over yonder, is a ruin, but Glenstal, onthe adjoining hills, is a living reality. Every church-yard on the plain has its ruined church, yet the bellsthat ring across today from Cashel to Limerick tellof a triumph. The faith of Erin they said, was dead,but behold her resurrection. She has passed throughthe dark winter and enters with calm security intoher second spring.

This Mass Rock is like the faith of Ireland, fixedsolidly in her soil, braving the storms and the rainsthat beat around it unavailing. It is associated withthe very heart of our faith. The great sacrifice of theMass around the altar has been the battle and therock stands as a monument of that resistance andvictory. But the fight must still go on. With the with-drawal of the influence of the church from our eco-nomic life, Christian civilisation is being imperilled.A form of state arising that claims unlimited powersover the souls and bodies of its people is the embod-iment of materialism. The drift is towards moral,religious and cultural chaos, when men cut them-selves away from the church of Christ; disillusion-ment is bound to follow when men leave the livingcitadel of truth to follow the ways of a fake freedom.

She, who safeguards the deposit of revelation, alsoprotects reason, morality and civilisation. Hence,the Mass Rock is not to remain a mere memory, it isto be a symbol of power, endurance when a newthreat demands the old fight. It is a symbol to us ofthat church He founded on a rock outside whichthere is no hope, within which there is a true guar-antee of life.

Below this hill is the beautiful Grotto of OurLady, blessed today by His Grace, the Archbishop ofCashel, His Lordship the Bishop of Waterford. TheHoly Sacrifice has been celebrated with all the ritu-al and beauty of a Pontifical Mass. What a contrastto the days when the rock was the altar of the cele-brant, a hunted priest, and a congregation of out-lawed people. To Mary we owe the continuation ofthe Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Mary’s Grotto belowand the Mass Rock on the hill form a beautiful mon-ument to mark the triumph of Erin’s faith on theGolden Vale.

The following were in charge of stewardingarrangements which were admirably carried out:Messrs P Quinlan, J Quinlan, C Hayes (Sec. Rec.Committee), J Bowman, NT, M Mulcahy, D Harty, JBirrane, J Hayes, J Ryan, E Hanly, T O’Toole, DMcGrath, E Harty, Supt. Hayden was in charge oftraffic arrangements. Chief Supt. Murphy, Limerick;W L Ryan (Architect) Limerick and Mr McNeicewere also present.

A special word of praise is due to WL Ryan, whowas responsible for the general layout plan of theGrotto, design of the entrance, ornamental railingsetc.

The entire layout was very favourably com-mented on by the large gathering who spoke of MrRyan’s abilities in a very complimentary manner. Itis stated that upwards of 500 people have visited theGrotto during the week.

Roger Jones, Denis Keating,Bill O’Sullivan and MichaelDowling are pictured hereworking on the ChurchtownMarian Shrine in December,1987

The Marian Shrine at Ballylanders pictured on August 29, 1954. Below, a sample of a the huge crowd that attended.

RIGHT on top of Kilmeedy Hill, looking downon the proud village, stands the Holy YearCross built by the parishioners to commemo-

rate the Marian Year of 1954.Following our appeal for information regarding

the county Marian Shrines, 85-year-old Nora Quilty,Kilmeedy, put pen to paper to recount the happyevent in the parish all those years ago.

“The Cross,” she said, “was built from contribu-tions from the parishioners and what an evening wehad. The Parish Priest, Very Rev. Fr. Pat Finn, nowgone to his eternal reward, and his splendid team ofaltar boys travelled up the hill to bless our lovelyholy year cross. The children sat in reverence on alovely evening as the Parish Priest said Mass andheld devotions to the Blessed Virgin afterwards. Iwalked up the hill on that splendid evening very fitand healthy thank God and was delighted with theceremony; nobody in a hurry, no other distractionsfor our young people who prayed fervently andfrom the heart. Later that evening the cross wascompletely lit up and for years was switched on thenight a body lay in repose in the local church. The

cross could be seen for miles around.”Nora continued: “Alas our cross is completely

darkened and all but forgotten now but I’m hopingand praying for a revival,” she added.

“They were very happy times in Kilmeedy andpeople used to call on Sundays to view the cross butI honestly think interest in those grand practices isgone forever,” she ended her letter.

❏ On Monday, August 15, 1988, at FeenaghChurch Grounds, a Marian Shrine was erected bythe local community. Donated by the OblateFathers, Cahermoyle, the shrine was blessed byVery Rev. Fr. Edward Looby, PP, in front of a verylarge crowd. Before the blessing, Mass was concele-brated by Rev. Fr. Matt O’Shea, OMI, Cahermoyle.Othere celebrants were Very Rev. Fr. Edward Looby,PP; Rev. Fr. Joseph D. Griffin, S.P.S., CC, and Rev. Fr.Laurence Brassil, OSA. The choir was conducted byTim Kelly, NT, and the organist was Mrs. KathleenO’Connor.

The beautiful marble statue was donated by Fr.O’Shea of the Oblate Fathers.

Holy Year Cross built in Kilmeedy

Pictured at a Marian Shrinecommemoration in Feenagh inAugust, 1988 are Kathleenand Benjamin O’Connor, Mrs.Bridie McCarthy, GerardO’Connor, Dan Gayer, JackFlynn and Eddie O’Connor.

The procession (pictured top and bottom) makes its way towards Mungret Shrine.

Picture and text re-printed by kind permission ofPubblebrien Historical Society, 2004

The building of the Mungret Shrine was anentirely voluntary undertaking. Local men underthe guidance of a committee undertook the con-struction. Jack O’Donoghue and Paddy Leyden,both masons, carried out the stone work. Thewomen on the other hand were responsible for thedecoration of the Shrine and the village. Mrs. MaiMcKeown selected the statue of the Virgin whichwas procured in Italy. The following is an account ofthe event which appeared originally in the LimerickWeekly Echo of Saturday, August 20, 1955, and sub-sequently re-printed in that wonderful publicationOn Shannon’s Shore, A History of Mungret Parish.

“Inspiring and impressive scenes were wit-nessed on Sunday evening when a beautiful MarianShrine was blessed and unveiled in the presence ofa huge gathering. The unveiling was followed bybenediction and was performed by Very Rev. CanonPunch, PP, Mungret. Other clergy present includedRev. Fr. Reynolds, CSsR; Rev. Fr. Corbett, SJ;Venerable Archdeacon O’Brien, PP, Patrickswell,and Rev. Kennedy, CC, Mungret and Crecora. At 7p.m. a procession led by Limerick Pipe Band tookplace from Mungret College Grounds to the Shrine.Mungret Village was tastefully decorated for theoccasion. The statue is situated in a commandingposition at the western end of the village and waserected by a large number of local workers whogave their services voluntarily.”

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The procession makes its way towards Mungret Shrine.

Mungret Shrine committee: Back row: Mick Mulqueen, Jim O’Dwyer, Bill Griffin, Willie McCann, Jack Cotter, Neddie Whelan, Gussie Creed,Denis Hehir. Front: Jimmy Galvin, Paddy Leyden, Tim Cleary (architect), Cha McDonnell, Johnny Kiely, Pierce O’Connor.

This Shrine at Woodlawn Park in Limerick City is one of the very few built in a private estate. It is lovingly looked after by the residents ofWoodlawn. It was built c. 1994.

Holy Wells and Shrines have been renownedplaces of worship in Ireland from the earliest oftimes, all dedicated to some particular saint. TheKnockaderry Shrine was built in 1963 on a naturalbase of rock, on an elevated site beside the church.The beautiful Carrara marble statue of Our Ladywas purchased from a firm in Rome.

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception theShrine was blessed and unveiled by the ParishPriest of Knockaderry, Very Rev. Fr. T. Costello,assisted by Rev. J. Sheehy, CC, Knockaderry, andRev. T. Greene, CC, Feohanagh. To mark the occa-sion a special sermon was preached by the Very Rev.Archdeacon Carroll, PP, VF, Rathkeale, and a verylarge number of parishioners were present at theceremony.

All the work on the Shrine was done voluntarilyunder the guidance of the local guild of Muintir naTire. The railings and wrought iron canopy was thework of local craftsman, Denis O’Sullivan.

In 1978 the Shrine underwent a facelift. The largegranite stones were removed and replaced byLiscannor flags. The existing railing was removedand replaced by a brick frontage. Flower beds adornthe entrance on both sides of the path. Kerbing wasalso laid.

The Shrine was described in the 1984 edition ofthe Knockaderry Clouncagh News as “an outstand-ing example of a people helping to keep the Faithalive and an insipiration for future generations.

– Pictures and text by kind permission of theKnockaderry Clouncagh News, 1984

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These workers are prepar-ing the site for the

Knockaderry Shrine.

The magnificent MarianShrine at Knockaderry

Churchtown Residents Association was responsible in the main for the building and completion of the magnificent Shrine in theircommunity in 1988. The Shrine (pictured below), was blessed by Canon O’Dea (above) and was followed by concelebratedMass. Rev. Fr. Lane gave an inspiring homily on the Lourdes story. The Canon thanked Fr. Lane for his inciteful sermon. The cel-ebrations were followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and concluded with a decade of the Rosary recited by Rev.Fr. Boyce. A choir drawn from the residents of Churchtown and surrounds gave a beautiful rendering of many hymns including“Queen of the May.” Great praise was heaped on the residents and those who gave their time voluntarily. Funds were raisedthrough draws, dances, flag days and church gate collections.

VERY Rev. Fr. Liam Kelly, PP, led the prayers at theunveiling and blessing of the new Marian Shrine atCroagh on August 15, 1988. A large crowd of parish-ioners from Croagh and Kilfinny joined together tobuild this marvellous Shrine situated at the newroad by the river between Croagh and Adamswood.

After Mass at the local St. John’s Church, Rev. Fr.Kelly led the Rosary service at the shrine. Mr. NedAhern, chairman of the community council thankedthe Costello family of Limerick for the donation of

the site. He also paid tribute to Mrs. Quaid, Mr.Liam Lynch and the Danaher brothers for the con-tribution of materials. He praised the workmen andwomen for their community spirit in getting theproject done. There were banners from the parish-ioners, Muintir na Tire, the GAA, ICA and the setdancers. The unveiling was completed with a ren-dering of Hail Queen of Heaven after which thelarge gathering retired to the community centrewhere tea and cakes were heartily consumed.

Fr. Kelly leads Prayersat Croagh Shrine unveil-

The Marian Shrine at Croagh, unveiled in August, 1988, pictured right, while on the left is a portion of the huge crowd thatturned up for the occasion.

The beautiful Shrine at Knockane, Newcastle West, costing over £400 was unveiled in August, 1966. The Shrine, which was builtby voluntary labour was a project of the Newcastle West Development Association Streets Committee. The streets committeeincluded Ed Guiry, Pat McAuliffe, Michael Fitzgibbon, Denis O’Connor, John McAuliffe, and Patrick O’Connor.

Nuncio’s telegram to Bishop . . .His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. P. O’Neill,received the following telegram from HisExcellency, Most Rev. Dr. O’Hara, ApostolicNuncio.“Most Rev. Patrick O’Neill, Bishop of Limerick.Back at Nunciature after never-to-be-forgottendays in Limerick. I beg your Lordship andyour devoted clergy, religious and faithful toplease accept this renewed heartfelt expressionof deepest gratitude for the wonderfully kind

welcome accorded the Holy Father’s represen-tative. His Holiness will be immediatelyinformed of all I saw and heard while theguest of His Lordship and your Diocese and Iknow it will please him immensely. It was amost edifying experience and I will alwayscherish the memory of Limerick’s great good-ness of heart and cordial hospitality but espe-cially its shining example of Catholic faith –Archbishop O’Hara, Apostolic Nuncio.

Shannon Shrine . . .A thousand workers at Shannon Airport, rep-resenting people of five different nationalities,contributed towards the building of a MarianShrine which was unveiled and blessed by hisLordship Most Rev. Dr. Rodgers, Coadjutor

Bishop of Killaloe. The statue, which cost £300,will be placed in the court yard beside the cen-tral tower. The staff at Shannon were given afree day in honour of the occasion.

. . . ‘Consecrate children’IN another letter to the Editor which appearedon Wednesday, December 8, 1954, a contribu-tor who called herself “A Child of Mary” madea plea that as the Marian Year is coming to anend it would be a “nice gesture to Our BlessedMother to have all the children of Limerickconsecrated to her”

She continued: “I think if a special day wasannounced from some of the churches to dothe needed, the response would be great. I, asa mother, would like nothing better than togive my child into the keeping of Our BlessedVirgin Mary.”

Shrine blessed at Assurance officeThe Irish Assurance Company offices inO’Connell Street was the subject of much dis-cussion when they had their own shrine

unveiled and blessed by Rev. Fr. Stanislaus,OFM.

ONE OF the mot unique Shrines in Limerickhas to be the one built in Knocklong. When theparish decided to pay their homage to theImmaculate Mary one Thady Ryan travelled toLourdes and received permission to take a piece

of the rock from the actual Grotto in which OurLady appeared. This was brought back toKnocklong and encased in glass and placedunderneath the statue where it rests today, 50years after the great event.

. . . Knocklong Shrine

A Shrine from down your way

This was a private Marian Shrine built by theHartigan family in Carrigkerry.

The Shrine in Mountcollins.

The Shrine at Newcastle West.

Garryowen Shrine Committee, 1983: From left, Mike Doran, Kathleen Reales, Chrissie Duhig, Vera O’Callaghan, Mary Clancy, Susan Halvey,Margaret Halvey, Larry O’Brien, Michael Clancy, Kathleen Halvey, Vera Ryan, Teresa O’Keeffe, Gerry Bromell, Dolores O’Grady, PeterWoodland, Seamus O Cinneide. In front are Ian O’Callaghan, left, and David Whelan.

Sean Heuston Place Committee: Back row: M. Hanley (partially obscured), M. Power, M. Hanley Jnr.; D. Flannery, S. O’Donoven, J. Buckley,P. McDonnell, T. Cremins, P. Parker. Front: M. Treacy, Jacko Minihan, M. Considine, Ald. Ted Ressell, Mayor of Limerick. The Shrine was blessedon Sunday, September 18, 1955 following a procession from St. John’s Square to the site. The opening ceremony was preceded by the Rosary,Prayers for emigrants and a short address by Very Rev. W. J. Creed, Adm., St. John. Rev. Fr. H. McGowan CSsR, and Rev. Fr. Athanasius, OFMwere also present. St. John’s Brass & Reed Band led the procession followed by the men of St. John’s Division of the Arch Confraternity and themembers of St. John’s Womens’ Confraternity. No other account of the blessing was carried in the Limerick Leader.

“The closing of the great Marian Year today, andthe Feast of the Immaculate Conception wereobserved in Limerick by Pontifical High Mass in St.John’s Cathedral at 12 o’c,” wrote the LimerickLeader on Wednesday, December 8, 1954.

The report continued: “The celebrant was HisLordship, the Bishop of Limerick, Most Rev. Dr. P.O’Neill, who subsequently, in the sacristy, was pre-sented with a cheque for £1,000 by the LimerickPork Butchers Society, to be devoted to the fund forthe renovation of Our Lady’s Shrine altar in theCathedral.

“The Deacon at the Pontifical High Mass wasRev. Fr. J. Moran, CC, St. John’s and the sub deaconwas Rev. Fr. D. Gallagher, CC, do.; The High Priest

was Very Rev. W. J. O’Grady, Adm., St. John’s; thedeacons at the throne were Rev. Dr. Murphy andRev. Fr. Kelly, both of St. Munchin’s College. TheMaster of Ceremonies was Rev. Fr. W. Creed, CC, St.John’s. Also on the sanctuary were Rev. M. Sadlier,St. Munchin’s College, and Rev. Fr. C. Mullins, CC,St. John’s. The singing of the proper of the Mass bythe Laurel Hill Convent choir and the children of theparish, added to the impressive solemnity of theliturgy. Professor King Griffin was at the organ.

“After the Pontifical High Mass, the chairmanand other officials and members of the ExecutiveCommittee of the Limerick Pork Butchers Societygathered in the sacristy to present a cheque for£1,000 to His Lordship.

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June, 1954, saw thousands of Limerick people brave the elements to give homage to the Queen of Heaven

“In making the presentation, Mr. John Bennis,chairman, said that the closing that day of theMarian Year was also a moment of joy for the mem-bers of the Pork Butcher’s Society for they had seenthe realisation of the promise given by their foundermembers in having their new Shrine altar to OurLady in memory of their first Hon President, the lastMost Rev. Dr. O’Dwyer, renovated. BishopO’Dwyer’s activities brought about the successfultermination of their labour dispute in 1890 and as aresult their Society was formulated under the newtitle of the Limerick Pork Butchers Society. The out-come of that dispute made for good conditions ofemployment. Down through the years the membersobserved August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption,as a holiday. They would continue to do so andhoped that the time was not far distant when ournative government would make it a national holi-day,” he said.

“It gives me great pleasure,” continued Mr.Bennis, “as chairman of the Limerick Pork ButchersSociety, to present to you, My Lord, our newHonorary President, this gift for £1,000 towards therenovation and decoration of Our Lady’s Shrine. Weearnestly hope that you will always come among usin your position as our Honorary President for yourchair in our Society is always there and when youcome you will be assured of a hearty cead milefailte.”

In returning thanks, His Lordship said “that theLimerick Pork Butchers Society had a long traditionof a high standard in every respect and especially inregard to their loyalty to the Church. No people was

more faithful to the Church than the members oftheir Society. They had given further evidence oftheir continued loyalty by making that magnificentpresentation. He knew that if it was possible forthem to give a whole million they would give itwith equal joy and gladness in honour of Our Lady.It was an auspicious occasion and he was sure thatthere would be countless blessings showered ontheir Society in the future years. He wished to thankevery one of them from his heart for the magnifi-cence of their gesture which they had made in hon-our of Our Lady.”

Finally, Mr. Bennis conveyed thanks to Very Rev.W. J. O’Grady, Adm., for his many kindnesses to theSociety.

Among the other officials of the Society presentwere Mr. Matt Fahy, vice-chairman; Mr. GeorgeJudge, secretary; Mr. E. O’Neill branch sec of theIT&GWU and the members of the executive com-mittee of the Society including three founder mem-bers, Messrs William O’Dwyer, Tom Forestall andJack O’Sullivan.

Solemn High Mass was celebrated just aftermidnight in the Redemptorist Church in markingthe Feast of the Immaculate Conception and theclosing of the Marian Year. The celebrant was VeryRev. M. Curran, CSsSR, Provincial; deacon was Rev.Fr. Dunne, CSsR and sub deacon, Rev. Fr. Canny,CSsR. Master of Ceremonies was Rev. Fr. P.O’Donnell, CSsR and the sermon was preached byRev. Fr. M. Hickey, CSsR.

Solemn High Mass was celebrated that day, too,in many of the other city churches.

These residents of the area attended the 50th anniversary celebrations of the BallynantyShrine this year.

“An outstanding feature of the St. Patrick’s weekcelebrations in Limerick were the organised activi-ties in the Corporation housing estates. Extensiveprogrammes, carried out by the Marian Shrine com-mittees at the request of the St. Patrick’s DayCommittee, were a pronounced success,” wrote theLimerick Leader on Monday, March 28, 1955.

“The schemes were decorated with lighting andbunting and on every night of the week the HolyRosary in Irish, was recited, appropriate hymnssung and Irish entertainment provided afterwards.

“The proceedings reflect the greatest credit onthe committees who organised them and on thelocal residents, who gave their committees splendidco-operation. Large throngs attended all the func-tions including visitors from the city and county.

“Mr. David Dundon, chairman of the St.Patrick’s Day Committee and the Mayor, Ald. GERussell, together with other committee membersand public representatives, made it a point to visitthe areas during the week and compliment theorganisers on their wonderful efforts,” The Leadercontinued.

FAIR GREEN SHRINE“The week’s programme began with a torch

light procession from St. Patrick’s Church to St.

Patrick’s Well on Tuesday night. Over 1,500 personstook part, led by Rev. Fr. Eamon Casey. Includedwere St. John’s Band, acolytes and choirs, St.Patrick’s CBSI, schoolchildren and the Men’s andWomen’s’ Confraternities. At the Holy Well, Theholy Rosary in Irish was recited by Fr. Casey and theladies’ choir sung hymns.

“On Wednesday, a variety concert was given.The O’Rourke, Penny, Dalton and FitzgeraldSchools gave exhibitions of Irish dancing. Therewere numerous singers and comedians and Irish setdancing with music supplied by Jim and JohnByrnes.

“On Friday night step dancing, singing and ceilitook place. A selection of music on the uileann pipeswas given by Mr. Andrew Keane, accompanied onthe violin by Mr. Tadhg Smalle.

“Mr. M. J. Keyes, Minister for Posts andTelegraphs visited the celebrations and remained atlength. He spoke during the interval on the necessi-ty for a hall in the district and appealed to the chil-dren to learn the Irish Language.

“The Limerick Pipers visited the celebrationsand played a selection. Story telling and singingaround a bonfire and a variety concert took place onSaturday.

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A candlelight procession from St. Patrick’s Church to the Holy Well at Singland attracted a couple of thousand souls in March, 1955.

“On Sunday a children’s concert was held at 3.30p.m. followed that night by Irish set dancing, stepdancing and singing. Mr. Michael Ryan, chairman, inhis address, thanked the St. Patrick’s Day committee,the bands, dancers, singers, comedians, musiciansand all those who contributed to make the celebra-tions such a success. The week closed with the play-ing of the National Anthem at midnight. The week’sprogramme was arranged by the local Marian Shrinecommittee of which Mr. M. Ryan is chairman; Mr. W.Hannah, treasurer, and Mr. P. O’Neill is secretary. Mr.O’Neill compered the week’s programme.”

RATHBANEThe week’s festivities provided the maximum of

entertainment and was thoroughly enjoyed by largeaudiences from the local and surrounding areas andvisitors from city and county.

“On Monday night the week’s programmeopened with a parade to Our Lady’s Shrine, led bySt. John’s Brass and Reed Band. The Holy Rosary, inIrish, was recited afterwards and the band playedsuitable hymns. The band led the large contingentsto the Green and played a selection of Irish airs. Aplatform was erected on the green for the variousitems of entertainment which were continued for theentire week. The programme was an extensive one,

arranged by a committee of local residents and wasa pronounced success. The Limerick pipers gave aselection of national airs. The Dalcassian Ceili Band,under Sean McPhillips and McShera Ceili Band pro-vided the music for ceili dancing. Songs were ren-dered by Mr. Joseph Speirin, tenor; Master TommyDrennan, boy soprano; Mr. J. Collins, Miss Meehanand Miss N. Ryan. Irish step dancing was providedby the Daly, Dalton and O’Rourke schools with exhi-bitions by Master Anthony Nolan and Miss Nolan,O’Rourke School.

“Musical items were provided by Mr. FrankImbusch, Mr. Neville, Mr. M. Meade, Mr. ‘Bud’Clancy and Mr. P. Ryan, comedian.

Variety entertainment was provided by Mr.Paddy McMahon, Irish weightlifting champion andhis troupe in comic sketch, acrobatic display andweightlifting exhibition. The Christian Brothersschoolboys, under Rev. Brother Delay, provided acomic sketch in Irish and a delightful gymnastic dis-play. Mrs. T. O’Neill and her troupe gave an exhibi-tion of figure marching, club swinging and a danc-ing display.

The Holy Rosary was recited each night at theShrine. The week closed on Sunday night on a veryhigh note with a musical night and communitysinging.

Tara and Helen Henkenborg at the Marian Shrine 50th anniversary at St Marys Park

BALLINACURRA WESTON’S EFFORTWhen the Ballinacurra Weston Shrine

Committee were invited to undertake a programmeof celebrations for the St. Patrick’s Week they foundthemselves at a considerable disadvantage as noneof them had any experience of organising what wasrequired, according to the report of the secretary,Mr. John Mulligan.

The fact that they produced a most comprehen-sive programme which was enjoyed nightly by a largegathering, is therefore all the more to their credit.

On Monday evening the Boherbuoy Band led aprocession through the scheme and afterwards gave aselection of Irish airs. A platform was erected near theShrine and children of the locality attending theO’Rourke and Penny Schools gave a continuous exhi-bition of Irish singing and dancing until 10 p.m. whenthe gathering knelt at the Shrine for the recitation ofthe Rosary and the singing of hymns. This latter prac-tice was continued each night throughout the week.On Tuesday night a similar programme followed withthe addition of selections from two members of theLimerick Pipers.

On Wednesday the proceedings were distin-guished with a visit from ‘Charlie and Mrs. Chaplin’and there was ceili dancing and old time waltzing asthis was St. Patrick’s Evening.

On Thursday night, a pageant took place, led bytwo girls dressed as St. Patrick and King Laoghaireand who recited The Pascal Fire of Patrick. A bonfirewas lit, the hymn Hail Glorious St. Patrick was sungand this was followed by community singing anddancing.

On Friday night the Daly School gave a splendidexhibition of Irish dancing and on Saturday night theprogramme featured Mr. Mick Corr’s Ceili Band aswell as local musicians, singers and step dancers.

On Sunday night, the Limerick Pipers gave aselection of music and a display of counter-marchingfollowed by a most enjoyable Irish night. The pro-ceedings were closed with the playing of the National

Anthem.

The programme was organised by a committeeconsisting of Mr. Thomas Hannon, chairman; Mr.Finnan, vice-chairman; Mr. J. Mulligan, secretary; Mr.Patrick Culhane who was in charge of the lighting;Mrs. O’Brien, who was in charge of the night lights onthe Shrine; Mrs. T. O’Reilly, Mrs. K. Mulligan andMiss G. Mulligan who coached the performers, andMessrs T. O’Reilly, Mulqueen, Murphy, McCormack,Murray, McInerney, William and Patrick Hannan andMrs. Mulqueen.

During the week the Holy Rosary was recitedeach day at 4.30 p.m. for children and 7.30 for adults.The O’Rourke and Daly Schools gave exhibitions ofIrish dancing each night.

The celebrations opened on Monday night with across roads celebrations and Irish ceili dancing. OnTuesday there was a ‘round-the-fire’ with a sing-song.On Wednesday night there was a cross roads dancewith music supplied by the Dalcassian Ceili Bandunder the leader Sean McPhillips and an excellentexhibition of dancing was given by Rosbrien resi-dents. On Thursday the celebrations were cancelleddue to a death in the locality.

On Friday night a children’s night, with a pageanton the coming of St. Patrick and Irish songs anddances were arranged by Mr. O’Neill, Mrs. Cowheyand Mrs. Dawson.

The grand finale was on Sunday night featuringthe Dalcassian Ceili Band. Mr. O’Dwyer gave a mostentertaining comedy turn. Nearly 2,000 personsattended, it was estimated.

The celebrations were organised by a local com-mittee consisting of Mr. P. Walsh, chairman; Mr. P.Buckley, Mr. T. Sherlock, Mr. J. Dawson, Mr. E. Carey,Mr. P. O’Brien and Mr. F. Cowhey.

Celebrations were also held in Sean HeustonPlace, St. Mary’s Park and other areas but as retreatswere in progress in a couple of parishes, the cele-brations had, of necessity, to be limited.

Oola locals enjoy the sunshine at the golden jubilee celebrations

“During the Marian Year ceremonies by the ArchConfraternity, the people of the above housingscheme were decorating their houses. It was decid-ed to built a small grotto in an angle of land divid-ing an intersection of roads. When this had servedits purpose the group of people who had built itdecided to erect a more fitting and lasting Shrine toOur Lady. The result was that on the 12th ofDecember, 1954, a beautiful statue of Our Lady wasunveiled and blessed by Rev. Fr. Manning, CC, St.Michael’s, in the presence of a large gathering ofpeople with his Worship the Mayor, AldermanRussell, and several members of the Corporation.As time went on it was found that the weather wasaffecting the statue. The committee decided to deferplans which they had already made to erect a railingand build a canopy instead. This created a very dif-ficult problem as they had dropped their collectionsome time before and therefore had very little fundsbut it was decided to purchase what timber theycould. The result is that there is a beautiful canopy

erected over the grotto today (See page 34). Thecommittee were influenced in their decision by Mr.James O’Donnell, resident carpenter to the scheme,who is one of its members. It was he who designedand constructed it and supervised the many willinghelpers to erect it as stands today. Indeed, the com-mittee are fortunate in having him as a member forhis professional assistance has been very useful onmore than one occasion,” the Limerick Leader wrote.

The paper continued: “The committee havedecided to renew this collection to erect a suitablerailing and would be grateful for any voluntary con-tributions sent to Mr. P. Lowe, Clarina Avenue,treasurer, or Mr. J. Mulligan, PC, Clarina Avenue,hon. sec.”

Over the years, however, the weather playedhavoc with the timber work and it was eventuallydemolished and a wall built around it (see page 33).

Fifty years later the descendents of those resi-dents again came together and re-built the Shrinethat had, over the years, deteriorated.

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Josephine Corbett, Chairperson; Paddy Hynes, committee, Albert O'Keeffe, Treasurer, Robert Carey, committee and Fr. Pat Seavers, commit-tee, pictured at the 50th Anniversary of the Marian Shrine in Crecora Avenue, Weston.

Picture: Alan Place/Press 22.

Frank and Mary Cowhey pictured at the golden jubilee of their Shrine at Rosbrien in August of this year

Despite the torrential rain the people of Prospect and Rosbrien turned out in large numbers to hear Mass at their shrine on the 50th anniver-sary in August. ❏ Picture: Sean Curtin, Press 22

St. Mary’s Fife and Drum Band as well as St. Mary’s Schouts attended the opening and blessing of the Shrine in 1954

Some of the gentlemen of Oola admire the view from the hill-top outside the village during the golden jubilee celebrations.❏ Oola Jubilee Pictures by Michael Ryan

A moment of reflection for Canon Connellan during the golden jubilee celebrations at the St. Mary’s Park Shrine.

AcknowledgmentsIt has been a humbling experience to have been involved in producing

this book on the Marian Shrines. While all are not directly productsof the 1954 Marian Year, I felt that any community who went to thetrouble of building a shrine to honour the Blessed Virgin deserves

inclusion.

The Hospital, Co. Limerick, shrine was built in 1904 and are currently celebrating their centenary, while at the other end of thescale two shrines were unveiled and blessed on the same day in

Askeaton in 1988.

Collecting photographs and actual Shrine information for this projecthas been at times a little daunting but parishioners have been

extremely generous with their valuable time and for that I thank them.

So many people contributed to this production that to name them allwould be impossible. Suffice to say, they know who they are, and this

book is dedicated to them.

The Microfilm Department of the Limerick City Library, under thestewardship of Michael Maguire, has been a treasure throve of

information without which this production would never have seen thelight of day. A special word, too, to local historian Tony Browne for

writing such an informative Foreword for the book

Again, many thanks to all who contributed.

SEAN CURTINSeptember, 2004

the marian year jubilee - old photographs of limerick,...

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