Rover the dog is a regular Sunday churchgoer in the village of Clogherhead in County Louth.
About thirteen years ago, Rover the dog drifted into Clogherhead in County Louth and had himself adopted. Initially, he led a normal dog’s life, but following a four year period spent eating and sleeping and doing all the things dogs do, life took a turn, and he started going to mass.
Up with them on a Sunday morning and off to first mast at half past seven, hail rain or snow, and back again for the second one at half past ten every Sunday for nine years and not a mass missed in all that time.
Rover goes into the church and guards the porch, ensuring nobody leaves until mass is over. However, his churchgoing is idiosyncratic. He never attends a service on a weekday or on occasions such as weddings.
But he's a great man for funerals altogether, hasn’t missed one in years.
Rover keeps himself to himself and doesn't associate much with humans or other animals. He has not slept or eaten at home for the best part of nine years. However, devotion to religious dogma has not caught on.
There he is a regular mass goer and not another dog in the whole town has followed his example.
A 'Newsbeat' report broadcast on 14 March 1969. The report is voiced by Frank Kelly.
