#THE STORY OF THE PILGRIMS MAC#

His studies brought him to Europe and to the US, at a time when the 1960s civil rights and anti-war movements were taking flight. One that saw him serve in the Defence Forces for nine years, before he joined the Jesuit order in 1959.

#THE STORY OF THE PILGRIMS MAC#

The effort to safeguard old traditions in Conamara was one of multiple achievements and impacts the priest had during his 91 years.īorn in Co Laois and raised in Co Mayo, Father Mac Gréil led a varied life. 'Right to last year, even though he couldn’t climb, he came along in the car' where he met people and heard confessions. His friend, and Catholic Bishop of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan, recalls how Fr Mac Gréil was 'very passionate about it and loved to promote' Mám Éan. Fintan Monahan said Fr Mac Gréil was a man who loved to talk In the years that followed, the pilgrimages grew in popularity. In turn, that led to the erection of the Stations of the Cross, a statue of St Patrick and a small church at Mám Éan. They were joined on the climb by a number of locals, who attended a mass he celebrated at the summit.Īfterwards, when they left donations totalling around £30, Fr Mac Gréil came up with the idea of getting a mass rock for the site. In an interview with RTÉ Nuacht in 2021, he recalled how he’d brought a group of students, who were attending a camp in Fionnaithe, Co Mayo, there one summer. An aerial view of Mám Éan The small church at Mám Éanįr Mícheál Mac Gréil had maternal links to the area and reinvigorated the pilgrimages in the early 1980s. He was reputed to have climbed the peak and blessed Conamara from the summit. But by the fifth century, the passage became linked to St Patrick. In pre-Christian times, Mám Éan was a place of celebration during Lughnasa. It’s the continuation of a local habit, going back thousands of years.

Patrick’s Day, on Good Friday and on the first Sunday of each August. Father Mícheál Mac Gréil pictured in 2021 The Jesuit priest, who died in January, was instrumental in maintaining a century's old tradition on the Maumturks. The life of Father Mícheál Mac Gréil will be remembered next week, when the first of three seasonal pilgrimages takes place at Mám Éan in Conamara.

The story of the pilgrims