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Irish priests celebrated mass at Mass Rocks in all of Ireland s 26 dioceses in honor of Irish Catholics who practiced their faith in secret when it was illegal to do so under British rule.Â
All expressions of the Catholic faith were prohibited in Ireland between the 16th and 18th centuries under the Penal Laws, forcing priests to celebrate mass at secluded outdoor locations.Â
Priests risked fines, imprisonment, and death for practicing mass, using rocks and boulders as makeshift altars. Many of these altars, or Mass Rocks , are still in existence today and serve as a reminder of the hardships endured by Irish Catholics under British rule.Â
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Patsy Barrett pictured at the Mass Rock at Tullacorr which he has being building for years. DR91
‘One of the reasons we have our faith’ Posted: 10:14 am January 31, 2021
By Michael Devlin
It takes a certain amount of effort to see any project through, from inception to completion. But for one Strabane man, two decades of work – work which remains ongoing – is indicative of his perfect devotion to a mission dedicated to the people.
When Patsy Barrett (73) bought a patch of ground on the Derry Road in the town circa 1982, little did he know that it already had a resident, a longstanding resident in the form of an ancient Mass rock.