How Strong Is Irish Faith? 1977

The reality of practice and belief among Ireland's Catholics.

The 1932 Eucharistic Congress was the greatest ever public manifestation of Ireland's Catholicism. The Pope's envoy was greeted with deference and homage by State, politicians and the people. Ireland was one of the first country's to recognise the new Vatican state. Under the Lateran Treaty (1929), the Vatican became an independent state from Italy.

Half a million people from every parish in Ireland thronged the streets of Dublin along with twenty thousand priests for a seven mile long eucharistic procession. The Catholic Church in Ireland now saw itself as a model for the rest of the world. The bishops of Ireland were unwavering in their deference to the Vatican.

Forty-five years later, Ireland and its relationship with the church has changed.

The mass in Latin is gone. So has the Friday fast. Priests are becoming laicised, vocations are falling.

However, despite the appearance of change, much remains the same. Mass attendance in Ireland remains among the highest in the world. In France, for example, 30 per cent of Catholics never go to mass at all and only one in five go every Sunday.

Nine in ten of us go to mass at least once a week.

Weekly mass may be just a habit and the question remains 'How strong is our belief?'.

Most of Europe is fairly convinced of the existence of God. In West Germany, four in five believe in God. In Sweden, it's three in five. In France, it's seven in ten. However, in Ireland just one per cent totally rejects the existence of God.

But here, belief in God almost goes without saying.

There are however questions surrounding the after-life with one in four Irish people having doubts. This kind of doubt could be something new to Irish Catholicism.

Fr Denis O'Callaghan, Professor of Moral Theology at St Patrick's College Maynooth, says that there is a strong tradition of Catholicism in Ireland and that Maynooth has been considered the English speaking centre of Christianity for a century.

Irish Catholic faith is described as a peasant faith where every townland has its own holy well or sacred place. Irish belief is a mixture of orthodox Catholic doctrine and the remnants of pagan pre-Christian Ireland.

The countryside is dotted with grottos and shrines.

Folklore, tradition and superstition play a role in Irish Catholicism. No trawlers take to the water without a blessing, mothers bless their children with holy water before they leave the house, and almost every aspect of Irish life is touched by the Catholic faith.

In Dublin, pets are blessed in a ceremony similar to the old tradition of blessing animals on farms in rural Ireland. Garda Stations, like many public buildings, are blessed before opening for business.

This episode of 'Survey' was broadcast on 15 March 1977. The presenters are Pat Kenny and Maurice Manning.

'Survey' was a monthly series examining the attitudes of Irish people to some of the major influences in their lives.