More than 1,500 people took part in the tercentenary celebrations on the grounds of Saint Joseph's Monastery at Mount Carmel in Loughrea, County Galway.
The monastery founded in 1680 is regarded as the founding house of the Carmelites order in Ireland.
As the Carmelite sisters lead an enclosed and contemplative life, they were not present at the celebrations. However they chatted and prayed with Father Payton and Bishop Joseph Cassidy through a wooden grille in their oratory. The 15 nuns will be allowed out of the monastery for the first time to attend a tercentenary mass.
Tercentenary celebrations included a rosary rally given by Father Payton who last visited Loughrea at the launching of his famous rosary crusade in 1954.
An RTÉ News report by Jim Fahy broadcast on 25 August 1980.
