Ballintubber Abbey

There is one thing that Ireland is know for that sets it apart from England, Scotland, and Wales in my mind. It is the faithfulness of the people of the Roman Catholic faith. They went through a lot, especially in the last couple of hundred years, to maintain their faith, their traditions, and, indeed, their way of life. If you visit Ireland now, you will find that many young people do not attend church, and this is not just those of the Catholic faith, but of the other churches in Ireland. The younger generation have demanded that Ireland be brought into the twenty-first century, even if it is kicking and screaming. This includes bringing peace to the island, especially in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has many more people of Protestant faiths, but, to me it seems that they don’t have the same number of ancient or medieval ruins as reminders of how ancient the land is and the people who were first there. That being said, the Republic is home to a great number of abbeys that are no longer used and haven’t been for hundreds of years. However, there are some that have been renovated to use as tourist destinations and some for use by the surrounding neighbourhood. Ballintubber Abbey is one of the abbeys that combine the two purposes.

Ballintubber Abbey has been there in one form or another since 1216. Prior to that, there was a tradition that St Patrick baptised people in the small river at the back of where the Abbey now stands. There is also a trail leading from there to the top of Croagh Patrick where St Patrick is reputed to have fasted for forty days in the mid 400s AD. This mountain is the third tallest mountain in County Mayo. The trail was used in the past for a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain when pilgrimages to Jerusalem were discontinue when the Saracens recaptured the Holy Land. Eventually, even these pilgrimages petered out.

The Abbey is surrounded by a magnificent cemetery. There are very old headstones as well as modern ones. The Abbey also has a Way of the Cross which faithful Catholics follow, especially in time for Easter. There is a Rosary Way, an underground crib, and a small museum. I did not get a chance to visit the museum as our schedule had to be kept.

The Abbey was severely damaged during the Cromwellian years, but the people still continued to meet on the grounds throughout the years. Just prior to 1966, a new roof was put on the roofless building in time for the 750^th anniversary. Recently, there have been renovations on the building and its interior in time for the 800^th anniversary which was or is being held this year (2016).

This building costs a lot of money to restore and maintain. In order to raise funds, the Abbey is open to tourists who are given a tour of the cemetery, along with the Way of the Cross and the Rosary Way, and inside the building itself. Pilgrimages are held at six times a year, Easter, and then once in May, June, July, August, and December. These pilgrimages are the same as is described above. Ballintubber Abbey is a popular choice of location for weddings of both local people and celebrities. Once celebrity wedding in 2001 was for Irish actor Pierce Brosnan and his wife, American journalist Keely Shay Smith. For those of you who don’t know who Pierce Brosnan is, he had the title role of Remington Steele in the American TV series of the same name, and he also played James Bond in a number of James Bond movies.

I enjoyed visiting Ballintubber Abbey as I do have an interest in history and in religious history. I would like to go back to study the Abbey and the surrounding area more and to collect the stories that abound about St Patrick. 

Day Eleven – Field Trip, April 2016

Well, we are no longer in Northern Ireland. We crossed the border about 8:30 this morning at a crossing where there used to be a huge British military camp. This was to prevent anyone who had no legal need from entering into Northern Ireland during The Troubles. At that time, the British presence was a fact of life. Thankfully, the British and the Irish have come to a point ten years ago where they have started to live more peacefully. They still have more work to do to sort out issues, but they are doing well, given the circumstances.

Our first stop this morning was at Donegal Castle. This castle was built approximately 1,000 years ago and, for approximately 300 years, sat empty and became run down. Part of it has been restored and they did an excellent job of it. Hopefully, more of the restoration will happen in the future.

We then walked around the corner to visit a shop where they weave their own tweed. We were greeted with Irish coffee of which I did not partake as I do not drink coffee. This was followed by a demonstration of the types of tweed that they make there and the process that is involved. It was interesting to watch the tweed being woven. They do produce some very nice tweed but I had no interest in purchasing any.

Back on the bus, we then travelled to Drumcliffe to visit the cemetery where W.B. Yeats is buried. We were given a short biography on the bus and we had the opportunity of finding the grave as well as visiting the church that is there. This particular cemetery has a long history as some of the graves have headstones made with the celtic cross. I would have liked to spend more time, but we were running a bit lake.

Lunch was at a restaurant named The Helm which is situated on Clew Bay. Because it was mid afternoon, we were not expecting a big meal. We were wrong. However, the food was delicious.

After lunch, we were taken over to Westport House. It is another site that has a long history. We heard about Grace O’Malley and her descendants. We were given a tour of the first floor and then left to explore the rest for ourselves. I found the dungeon and enjoyed the bit of fun that it provided.

We are now at our hotel and will shortly be going for dinner. Tomorrow, we have some more touring to do, but we will not be changing hotels.

Good Friday – What Does It Mean to You?

It’s Good Friday, today. It’s the beginning of the Easter weekend. I know what it means to me, but sometimes I wonder what it means to other people.

Growing up, it did not mean very much to me. It was a day off school and the beginning of a long weekend. Easter meant chocolate eggs. There was no thought about the significance of Easter. Even now, Easter isn’t Easter without chocolate.

One of my memories of Good Friday as a teenager was spending it at the home of friends of mine. My sister was also there. It just so happened that the friends were daughters of an Anglican minister who ministered to our parish. Their mother had a tradition of making hot cross buns every Good Friday and feeding them to whomever came to spend time with them on that day. Her buns were fabulous and I have absolutely no idea how many I ate that day.

Another Good Friday memory that I have from when I was much younger, is of my mother cooking fish. Fish was not very common in our house at that time. In fact, it was very rare. I have no idea why. I had asked my mother why she was cooking fish and she told me that it was because that it was Good Friday. I still did not understand why. She tried to explain it to me but I think that I might have been too young to understand.

As I grew older, I learned about what Good Friday was supposed to be about, according to the Anglican Church. At that time, however, it was a day off school, maybe go to church for an hour and then do whatever I want.

Over the years, I have learned the true meaning of Good Friday. It is not a government holiday but it is a religious holy day. It is meant to bring people together to think about and discuss the death of Jesus Christ and the Atonement that He performed for us. A great many people think that the Atonement was performed on the cross.

The Atonement as explained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints states:

“As used in the scriptures, to atone is to suffer the penalty for sins, thereby removing the effects of sin from the repentant sinner and allowing him or her to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ was the only one capable of carrying out the Atonement for all mankind. Because of His Atonement, all people will be resurrected, and those who obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God.”

 (https://www.lds.org/topics/atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng)

As I said earlier, many people believe that the Atonement was performed on the cross. I don’t believe that it was done there, but instead, I believe that the time that Christ spent in the Garden of Gethsemane, He worked out the Atonement. As it reads in the New Testament:

“ 39 ¶And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the  Mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

 41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s 

cast, kneeled down, and prayed,

 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup 

from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,

strengthening him.

 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: 

and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Luke 22: 39 – 44

(https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/22?lang=eng)

Here, it says, right in the New Testament, that Christ sweat great drops of blood. Why would this happen unless He was taking the sins of all of the people of the world, past, present, and future, and paying the price for them so that if they would only believe in Him and follow His laws, then they would be able to return to our God and live with God and Jesus Christ throughout the eternities.

Let it suffice that we can read these things in the scriptures.

Some of you may not believe the way that I do. That’s alright. It is not my place to tell you that you are wrong in your beliefs. My object in this is to present a slightly different slant than you think and ask that you think about it. I hope that you observed Good Friday in the manner that you feel comfortable with.