Irish places of Pilgrimage
Characteristics of Pilgrimage
 Pilgrimage is a particular type of journey
 On pilgrimages, groups of people unite in a common
faith and travel together to a holy place or shrine
 “Going on pilgrimage without change of heart brings
no reward from God”
 It was the hope and the dream by leaving home and
travelling to a special place one might return somehow
changed and renewed
 Pilgrims frequently travelled together in groups to
give each other support and protection
 Today people continue to go on pilgrimage to be at one
with themselves and with God
Modern Pilgrimage
World Youth
Day 2011 was
held in Madrid
Did anyone
from your
parish go
Madrid?
The theme for
2011′s World
Youth Day is
“Rooted and Built
Up in Jesus
Christ,Firm in the
Faith”
(Col 2:7).
Find out where the
next World Youth Day
will be held
Irish places of Pilgrimage
There are many
Irish places of
pilgrimage:
•Lough Derg
•Glendalough
•Croagh Patrick
•Faughart
•Knock
•St Brigid’s well
in Kildare
Many people who travel to
pilgrimage sites go to pray
for special intentions or to
give thanks to God for His
love or healing.
How many of these do we
find in the Archdiocese of
Dublin?
Pilgrimage Sites
Name a pilgrimage site in Ireland which is
associated with:
Mary _______________
Penance through fasting ____________
Penance through climbing in bare feet
________________
Place of prayer on feast of St Brigid
___________________
St Kevin ___________________
St Laurence O’Toole ______________
Where were pilgrim sites located in Ireland?
• In rural settings
• At monasteries
• In desolate places to escape distractions and
become closer to God the Creator
Such religious life
emphasised
solitude,
pilgrimage, mission,
sacred locations
and tough
penitential acts.
Let us consider two important
pilgrim sites within the
Archdiocese:
Kildare (Cill Dara) means
the Cell or Church of the
Oak.
Here, in the late 5th
century, St.Brigid built her
Abbey on a hill beside a
great oak tree. It is
important to remember
that the Irish/Celts
believed in a goddess
Brighid long before she
became a Saint and this
area was sacred to her.
Glendalough (Gleann dá Locha)
refers to the valley of the two
lakes.
In the early 6th century,
Saint Kevin settled in this
picturesque pilgrim site in
Wicklow. Even today, it
remains the best-preserved
‘monastic city’ in Ireland. It
includes a round tower and
seven churches.
TO DO:
Find placenames in your area containing the word
‘Kil’ or ‘Cill’?
Does the origin of this placename go back to Celtic
Christian times?
(It may be useful to check with your local librarian
or interview a local historian to assist you.)
Some characteristics of
Celtic Christian Sites:
• High Crosses
• Holy Wells
• Holy Trees
• Round Towers
• Fire Temple
Parishes of the
Archdiocese of
Dublin
High Cross
(also called Standing Cross)
These freestanding crosses were found
outdoors
They were probably made of wood initially
Later they were made of stone & richly
decorated
The cross features a stone ring around the
intersection, forming a Celtic cross
This style of cross is only found in Ireland,
Scotland and parts of Britain
Such crosses were erected outside churches,
monasteries, at land boundaries or crossroads
 Some may have been used as preaching
crosses
High Cross
The second tallest high cross in Ireland is
found in the Dublin Archdiocese, in
Moone, Co.Kildare.
The theme of the cross is ‘the Help of
God’-how God came to humanity’s
assistance in their hour of need.
Scenes carved on the stone cross include:
Daniel in the lion’s pit, the sacrifice of
Issac. It is in three parts:

the three children in the fiery furnace

the miracle of the loaves and fish

the flight into Egypt
TO DO:
Research
Where is the tallest High Cross in Ireland located?
Create an album of other Celtic crosses.
Design your own Celtic cross use as the theme of your design
‘Jesus the Teacher’.
(Tip: consider the Parables Jesus told; the stories about Jesus’ ministry).
Visit the exhibit on the High Crosses of Ireland
at Collins’ Barracks.
Celtic
Cross
Holy Wells
Did you know?.....
For centuries, people revered the
deities of wells.
In Christianity, Christ uses water to
heal.
Water is used in Baptism.
The Saints blessed the waters of wells
and used them for Baptism.
Pilgrims traditionally put water from the
holy well on afflicted body parts.
Many Saints founded a local church
beside this source of water.
St. Columba is reputed to have blessed
over 300 wells.
The Wayside well (beside St
Brigid’s Well) is a small and
ancient source of water.
People visit here to collect water in
bottles because of its reputed
healing properties.
St.Brigid’s Well is a large and
ornate well and the site contains
a statue of St.Brigid. There are
5 prayer stones in a line. It is a
custom to pause at each stone
and to reflect upon an aspect of
Brigid/Brighid.
First stone: Brigid, a woman of
the land
Second stone: Brigid, the
peacemaker
Third stone: Brigid, the friend of
the poor
Fourth stone: Brigid, the
hearthwoman
Fifth stone: Brigid, woman of
contemplation.
Behind the fifth stone is a round
well that you encircle 3 times to
achieve harmony within yourself
and within the universe.
Bible search:
Baptism of Jesus Matthew 3:1-17
Woman at the Well John 4:7-43
Holy Trees
 Holy Trees are often called
‘rag’ trees or ‘cloutie’ trees
 Pilgrims often left rags or
items attached to the
branches of a nearby tree
 They may have been in
remembrance of healings
received
 Some believe that, while
the items remain on the
branches, the prayers are
still effective
Have you seen the rag trees at
Kildare and Glendalough?
Round Towers
Round towers began to be built about the
same time as the high crosses.
There remains some confusion as to the
real purpose of these towers.
They may have been:
• used for ringing bells
• status symbols
• landmarks to guide pilgrims
•
used in liturgies or ceremonies
• watchtowers, storehouses and places
of refuge.
TO DO:
The round tower at Glendalough
is 30 metres high.
Can you construct a scaled
model of this tower?
Make a 3D model of the pilgrim
site at Glendalough.
Place it in your Sacred Space on
the Feast of St Kevin.
The Fire Temple
(Kildare)
The Fire Temple is located at the rear of the Cathedral in Kildare.
In Pre-Christian times, the Priestesses of the goddess Brighid kept
her flame eternally lit.
In Christian times, the religious Sisters of St. Brigid continued this
tradition.
The light was extinguished during the Reformation.
On 1 February 2006, the flame was permanently housed in a large
glass enclosed vessel in the town centre of the Market Square.
TO DO:
 Refer to Symbols in Alive-O 8 T1 L8
 Bible Search: Genesis 28:10-22 (Jacob’s Stone)
 Can you name the seven sacraments of the church?
 Choose 2 sacraments and list the symbols associated with these
sacraments
Who went on pilgrimages?
†
The majority of people in Celtic times were not
literate. They relied on the symbolism in
pictures and architecture
†
They cherished stories about the lives of the
Saints and the relics of these Saints
†
Pilgrim sites associated with these Saints were
visited on Saints’ feast day
†
Pilgrims often fasted, sought cures for
illnesses prayed to and honoured their favourite
Saints
†
The Celtic people were a restless people and
had an innate tendency to explore the unknown
†
Unsurprisingly, the trend of ‘white martyrdom’
developed amongst monks. This was where
monks would leave possessions, family and
friends in order to travel the wilderness
forever in the service of God.
The three most important Saints of Ireland were
St.Patrick, St.Brigid and St.Colmcille (Columba).
TO DO:
Interview someone
who has gone on a
pilgrimage
recently.
Why did they go?
What did they do?
Celtic Prayer
Reflect on the prayers below.
Choose one to use at your next
Prayer Time
Prayer to Jesus,
Prayer to the Trinity
Prayers to the Holy Spirit
(Alive-0 3-Alive-0 8)
St.Patrick’s Prayer
Paidir d’Íosa
(Alive-0 4- Alive-0 8)
Sing and pray the
Deep Peace ritual
(See Alive-0 4 DVD)
Here is a Celtic Circling Prayer:
Circle me, Lord
Keep peace within,
Keep harm without
Circle me, God
Keep love within,
keep hate without.
Compose your own Circling Prayer.
Teacher Notes from Alive-O:
Why do we study Celtic Christian Spirituality?
• To offer children an opportunity to explore something of their
Celtic Christian heritage so that their living of that Christianity
today may be enriched.
Suitable songs from Alive-O!
A Íosa, Glan mo chroíse Alive-0 3
The King of Love Alive-O 4
Christ be beside me Alive -0 3
The children will engage
with Celtic and Christian
storytelling through which
they begin to sift between
the similarities and
differences between the
two. At a rudimentary level
they will engage with a
historical look at preChristian Ireland and the
coming of St Patrick and
take an equally modest
geographical look at the
Ireland of this time.
Stories
In the Christian tradition, storytelling is
not an innovation. Jesus told stories that
challenged the people of his day to look
again at their experiences. Through his
stories he challenged them to re-evaluate
these in the light of the values of God’s
kingdom, which he explored in concrete
terms in his stories. Access to the Celtic
and Christian tradition is gained through
the medium of story (AO-5). The children
are introduced to Patrick’s coming to
Ireland and Oisín’s return to Ireland from
Tír na nÓg. Christianity in Ireland
absorbed much that was Celtic and a
distinctive Celtic Christianity emerged. It
is the root s of this Celtic Christianity that
Irish children live out today.
Activity 1
Draw a little
shamrock to show
the places
associated with
St Patrick.
Activity 2
Draw a little St
Brigid’s Cross to
show the places
associated with
St Brigid.
Activity 3
Draw a little round
tower to show the
places associated
with St Kevin.
Key places in the life of
St Patrick:
 IRELAND
 WALES
 SLEMISH
 BALLYMENA
 COUNTYANTRIM
 FRANCE
 BRITAIN
 ARMAGH
 COUNTY DOWN
 SLANE
 DOWNPATRICK
Find these places
on a map.
St Patrick
READ ST PATRICK’S PRAYER AND FILL IN
THE BLANKS
STRENGTH; HAND; WORD; SENSE;
MIGHT; WAY; ANGELS; EYE. (Alive-O 5)
I SURROUND MYSELF TODAY WITH
THE POWER OF GOD
GOD’s _______ TO COMFORT ME
GOD’s ________ TO UPHOLD ME
GOD’s GOOD ______ TO GUIDE ME
GOD’s_________TO LOOK BEFORE ME
GOD’s __________ TO SPEAK FOR ME
GOD’s ______________ TO LEAD ME
GOD’s __________TO LIE BEFORE ME
GOD’s ____________ TO SAVE ME.
•
•
To do:
Read the prayer Christ Be Beside Me in
your Alive-O 5 pupil book, page 11
Write out the prayer, Prayer to Jesus on
page 17,Alive-O 5 and say it.
You can also sing this hymn.
It is called Christ Be Beside Me
Research:
 Look in the class
library for some Celtic
myths and legends
 WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
oThe Celtic gods?
oThe Christian God?
PRAYER SERVICES:
PRAYER SERVICE
IN HONOUR OF ST
PATRICK
Alive-O 5 p.379
Alive-O 6 p.373
PRAYER SERVICE
FOR THE FEAST OF
ST BRIGID
Alive-O 5 p.374
Alive-O 6 p.368
PRAYER SERVICE
FOR ALL SAINTS
AND THE
COMMEMORATION
OF THE FAITHFUL
DEPARTED
Alive-O 5 p.370
THE MONASTIC WAY OF LIFE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick
A recent interview in the Irish Times Weekend Review January
15th 2011 was conducted with Mark Patrick Hederman, Abbot of
Glenstal, in Murroe, Co Limerick. He has spent 50 of his 66 years in
Glenstal as student, teacher, headmaster and head of building
works. The Benedictine monks live in Glenstal Abbey and the
monastery is situated in an Anglo-Norman Castle. There are twenty
monks in the community. They live according to the Rule of St
Benedict and in following this rule find their balance in life between
work, prayer and leisure. The Abbey is located in well-kept grounds
and is a haven for wild life and natural habitats.
More about Glenstal Abbey...
Glenstal Abbey is a very busy
place. It is a hive of industry and
monks are encouraged to use their
gifts and talents. The monks run a
boarding school for boys. People
come to the Abbey in search of
silence and solitude. They can stay
in the guest house located on the
grounds which accommodates
fifteen guests. There is also an
icon chapel situated in the Abbey,
which houses Russian and Greek
Orthodox devotional paintings.
People are
welcome to join
the monks in
prayer and for
Mass.The monks
gather for Mass
each day in the
beautiful chapel
and they also pray
in the chapel four
times a day.
Watch Alive-0
DVDs for
monastic
spirituality
Activity:
Log on the
website for
Glenstal
Abbey.
The Abbot sees a great need for the way of life in
Glenstal today. The monks are in tune with the signs of
our times and in recent years they have written many
books and produced CDs. The Glenstal Book of Prayer
is one of the most popular publications. The Abbot
Mark Hederman speaks of future plans for the Abbey.
There are plans to build God pods where people can
come and enjoy an atmosphere of peace and solitude.
Plans are also underway to develop a farm where
children can come to interact with animals and engage
in workshops.
Can you find
Co. Limerick
on the map?
Look up:
Alive –O 7
and read
about the
lives of St
Kevin and St
Laurence O’
Toole
Pope Benedict and the Monastic Tradition
St Benedict’s Medal
Can you draw a picture
of the medal?
What do the symbols
engraved on the medal
represent?
Do you know anyone by the
name of Benedict?
Do you know why Pope
Benedict is called Benedict the
XVI?
Where does Pope Benedict
live?
Log on to the Vatican website
www.vatican.va
“They should each try to
be first to show respect
for each other”
RB 64.17
Pilgrim Sites outside Ireland