Mass rocks in Clontibret

A number of Mass rocks and gardens were recorded in a survey carried out in 1957 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher in Ireland. This survey was undertaken by Rev P O'Gallachair on behalf of the Clogher Diocese, a Roman Catholic diocese which spans the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.[1] The survey records three 'Mass rocks' and two 'Mass gardens'.[2] During the time of the Penal Laws, Catholic religious observances were suppressed, and these remote sites were used as secret places of worship.[1]

Lisglasson Mass Garden in County Monaghan

Mass gardens

The survey records a Mass garden at Lisglasson in Clontibret,[3] and a Mass garden (or hut) at Doohamlet.[1][2]

The Mass garden at Lisglasson is situated close to the N2 and is accessible from the roadside.[3][2] It is highlighted on the 1857 Ordnance Survey map of the Clontibret/Lisglasson area and in Ó Gallachair's 1957 journal article.[1]

Mass rocks

The survey records a Mass rock at Lemgare, a Mass rock at Tasson, and a rock or hut at Dunfelimy near Annyalla.[1][4]

The site at Dunfelimy is mentioned, by Rev. O'Gallachair, as being a Mass rock "on the site of old church of Annyalla". In making this reference, O'Gallachair is picking up a point made over thirty years earlier by Fr James E McKenna in his Parishes of Clogher, Vol. I (Enniskillen, 1920, p. 527). The opinion is that there may be a mix up between a Mass rock in Dunfelimy and perhaps a structure (usually a hut called a bothóg) which predated the old chapel at Annyalla and which was built in the late 1790s.

References
  1. Gallachair, P. Ó (1 January 1957). "Clogher's Altars of the Penal Days. A Survey". Clogher Record. 2 (1): 97–130. doi:10.2307/27695446. JSTOR 27695446.
  2. "Find A Mass Rock - Monaghan". Find A Mass Rock. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  3. "Geograph:: Lisglassan Mass garden (C) Kenneth Allen". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  4. "Geograph Ireland: Lemgare Mass Rock (C) Maurice McAdam". www.geograph.ie.

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