A special mass was held in Kilmilkin church near Maam in Co Galway today to commemorate Fr Michael Mac Gréil who passed away on 21 January this year.
As part of the special mass there was an unveiling and blessing of a memorial plaque to celebrate the life of the well-known Jesuit, lecturer and social-activist.
Fr Michéal Mac Gréil revived the tradition of making of pilgrimage to Máméan in 1980 which now attracts many visitors every year.
He oversaw the construction of a small chapel (Cillín Phádraig) near Leaba Phádraig, the rock where St Patrick is reputed to have slept and from which he gave Conamara his blessing.
Born in Co Laois but reared in Co Mayo, Fr Mac Gréil served in the army for 9 years between 1950 and 1959 as a cadet and officer.
He left the army to join the Jesuit order and was ordained in 1969. After taking his first mass in Westport, he went to Kilkenny to celebrate mass for the Travelling community.
His ground-breaking sociological research, led to three books - Prejudice and Tolerance in Ireland (1977), Prejudice in Ireland Revisited (1996) and Pluralism and Diversity in Ireland (2011).
The plaque in memory of Fr Micheál Mac Gréil will be erected in Máméan at a later date this year.
