To the Island of Saints!

LMS President Joseph Shaw is also President of Una Voce International (the FIUV). Here he describes his visit to Ireland earlier this year

Ifirst visited the traditional ‘Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration’ at Silverstream Priory, in County Meath north of Dublin, whose Prior is Fr Basil Mary MacCabe, originally from Flavigny in France though of Irish descent. The growing community (currently sixteen monks) is running out of cells, but the complex includes a very comfortable guest house where I spent two nights.

Next, I gave a well-attended talk in the Catholic Central Library of Dublin, thanks to the good offices of the Latin Mass Society of Ireland. The Library has recently celebrated its centenary.

I then travelled to the west coast to visit the Shrine of Knock in County Mayo, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to more than a dozen people in 1879. Here Fr Philomeno of the Marian Franciscans, based in Dundee, celebrated Low Mass in the

Blessed Sacrament Chapel, an event organised for us by the energetic Seán McGee of the Roundtower Association.

The following day I spoke at the annual Roundtower Conference in Galway, entitled, ‘She Shall Crush Your Head’, alongside Fr Philomeno and Robert Colquhoun of 40 Days for Life. The conference included a Rosary Procession through the streets of the city.

I then crossed Ireland again, travelling south east to Waterford, where I attended the regular Sunday Sung Mass celebrated by the resident priest of the Fraternity of St Peter, Fr Patrick O’Donohue, at St John’s Church. Some readers will remember Fr O’Donohue from his time with the Fraternity in England.

The following day I gave a final talk in Waterford, organised by the Latin Mass Society of Ireland, before returning home.

The three talks I gave in Ireland were different approaches to the subject of Catholic culture. Recordings have been uploaded to the Latin Mass Society’s podcast channel ‘Iota Unum’, which readers can find on their usual podcast platform or via the LMS website. A long video presentation of the Roundtower conference is available on YouTube (search for ‘Roundtower Association’).

Coincidentally, the Guild of St Clare has received an enquiry about setting up a chapter in Belfast. Any readers who might be able to participate in such a project should email guildofstclare@lms.org.uk.

I would like to thank the monks of Silverstream, Fr O’Donaghue FSSP, the Latin Mass Society of Ireland, and particularly Seán McGee of the Roundtower Association, whose initiative the trip was, for their welcome to the Island of Saints, where tradition is very much alive!