Holycross

1992 saw the second great achievement of the first Latin Mass Society of Ireland when permission for an annual Mass at Holycross Abbey in Co Tipperary.  Holycross is a restored Cistercian Abbey in the village of Holycross which is in the hands of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.  The restoration was the brainchild of Archbishop Thomas Morris.  The church houses a number of relics of the true cross and the complex is the national Padre Pio centre in Ireland - Mrs Mona Hanafin, wife of Senator Des Hanafin and mother of Mary Hanafan.

So on a cold October day in 1992, the Latin Mass Society of Ireland (newly named Ecclesia Dei Ireland - more of that anon), had the first extraordinary form Roman Mass in Holycross Abbey since its restoration.  Archbishop Morris presided, the first Irish archbishop to do so since the liturgical changes (I might have mentioned earlier that Bishop Edward Daly of Derry offered the inaugural Mass in the Derry Diocese).  The Mass was offered by Father Pádraig Ó Fithchill in honour of the newly beatified Irish martyrs.  And Mass was to take place in Holycross on an annual basis which still continues.

First breakthrough - Knock

The new Latin Mass Society of Ireland was crowned briefly with one success - Archbishop Cassidy of Tuam granted permission for an annual Mass at Knock Shrine.  This was to take place on the first Saturday of September, beginning in 1990.  Since then, the only year that did not take place was in 2001, of which more anon.

The society took a definitive shape, with Rev Pádraig Ó Fithchill became chairman.  The bulk of members of the new society knew little of the background of the late Father Ó Fithchill and this was to become a source of controversy later.  For the moment, the embryonic society could pride themselves in an early success.  Mass took place in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Knock in September that year followed by Stations of the Cross and finished with Benediction.  This would be the standard format for these Masses as time went on, complete with a carriage booked on the Dublin train for a group from Ss Michael and John's, or its successor chapels.

Latin Mass Society of Ireland - First Attempt

One could say, theoretically, that organised traditionalist activity in Ireland goes back to the 1980s, but that would be stretching the truth.  The first attempt at founding a national Latin Mass Society here was in the Ormond Hotel in Dublin on the evening of 31 December 1989.  I think the time and date was chosen as there was a solemn sung Te Deum scheduled for Ss Michael's and John's just across the Liffey later that evening.

So a small number of people assembled and founded the Latin Mass Society of Ireland.  The initial acting chairman was David McEllin and the members were substantially, but not exclusively, drawn from members of the congregation in Dublin.  That being said, there were not a lot of people at the meeting.

Nevertheless, this did represent progress.  Lay organising is not a forte in the Irish Church, despite models such as the Legion of Mary and the Knights of Columbanus.   As observed previously on this blog, there was a very well attended Ordinary Form Latin Mass in Dublin's Pro-Cathedral since the 1970s, but no one ever set up a Latin Liturgy Association.  These were things to do with the clergy and the laity took the back seat.   Thus, the Latin Mass Society of Ireland came into being in 1989, taking as its inspiration the much larger, older and more successful Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.  And few people noticed.