This article is from page 6 of the 2011-04-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A NORTH Clare group claims that it will be prevented from celebrating Easter Sunday Dawn Mass at the Killenagh Graveyard this year because of opposition from within the local parish organisation.
Dawn Mass has been celebrated at the graveyard for the past three Easter Sundays, with more than 200 local people turning out for the celebration last year.
In previous years, the Mass has been presided over by a locally born priest, who is currently stationed outside the Diocese of Galway and Kilfenora.
However, according to the Killenagh Graveyard Committee, they are being prevented from celebrat- ing the Mass this Easter, even if they find a willing priest from outside the diocese.
“The group came together to try and fix up the cemetery and, thanks to voluntary labour and a number of FÁS Schemes, we were able to do that.
“We started these Masses as a way of celebrating the work that was done and they have been very successful community events,” said Robert Bennett of the Killenagh Graveyard Committee.
“A priest from outside the diocese has hosted the Mass for the past three years but this year, out of courtesy, we decided to contact the local parish. They said that they would not be in a position to celebrate the Mass and they would not be allowing the Mass to take place at all.” The Clare People attempted to contact local priest Fr Derek Feeney in relation to this but were unable to reach him at the time of going to press.
According to former Ennistymon priest and current PRO for the Diocese of Galway and Killaloe, Fr Sean McHugh, however, there are currently not enough priests to cover existing Masses in the area.
“I remember when I was serving in Ennistymon four years ago, I was asked about a cemetery Mass early on Easter Sunday. I disagreed on the grounds that we, the priests, were very stretched on Easter Sunday.
“Additionally, another Mass would take the congregation away from the later main Easter Sunday celebration in the nearby church,” he said.
“There are a number of other cemeteries in that area that could not all be supplied with Dawn Mass on Easter Sunday if it was requested.
“I wasn’t in favour of a priest from outside the parish coming in to cel ebrate the Mass because, with the shortage of priests, the direction being taken [by the Church] is to rationalise Masses and not to timetable extra Masses.
“In general, parish priests would prefer to celebrate cemetery Masses themselves with their own congregations whom they serve with week in and week out.
“For this reason, it was usual to celebrate mid-week Mass in each of these cemeteries in each of these parishes mid-week during the summer.”