The Loughaun Mass Rock Tulla

Mary Farrell

Mass Rocks or ‘Carraig an Aifrinn’ were places where Mass was celebrated before and during the Penal times. They were usually rocks or earth boulders located in secret isolated places.

The Penal Laws

Directional sign to Mass Rock at Loughaun

The tradition of Mass Rocks in Ireland generally dates back to Oliver Cromwell’s time. Mass was banned at this time and this led to the practice of attending Mass in secret locations.

In 1697, the Banishment Act, which banished all Roman Catholic ordinaries (clerics with powers to execute laws) and regular clergy (members of religious institutions who follow a rule of life e.g. monks) from Ireland, was brought into law.

However, under the Registration Act of 1704, many clergy registered as parish priests so that they would be treated as secular clergy (i.e. clerics who are not bound by a rule of life) and avoid deportation. They had to provide a security of 100 pounds. Not all priests registered and they remained in hiding.

Priest Hunters

Loughaun Mass Rock

A reward of 50 or 20 pounds was paid to anyone who caught a bishop or priest. This led to priest hunters and what is known as ‘priest catching’. These were people who were paid to inform on priests who were found saying Mass. The priests could be killed if caught. People were posted on lookout during Mass in case the soldiers or ‘Red Coats’ were coming.

Around 1680 Fr William Connellan was parish priest in Tulla. He registered in Ennis in 1704. Later in 1712 when the Penal Laws were more strictly enforced he was arrested for saying Mass illegally.

The Mass Rock at Loughaun

Loughaun Mass Rock with Cross on top

The Mass Rock is located at Loughaun North townland in Tulla parish on the R462 Tulla to Gort road. The entrance road to the Mass Rock is through a forestry plantation managed by Coillte Teo.

In Penal times, when the Mass Rock was in use there was no through road. It was first used over 300 years ago. It was also known as An Sagart. People had to cross fields, a river and rough mountainous terrain to get to Mass. This is the most Northerly part of the parish. This location meant that people from local communities as far as South Galway could travel to Mass.

At the site there is a large lookout rock and a flat Mass rock beside it. A circle of stones surrounds it. An iron cross was placed on top of the rock in more recent years.

Stories

Beneath the rock is a well, where it is said that the priest washed his
hands.

According to oral stories, on a specific date the priest would travel by horse to a location outside Tulla to celebrate Mass. This information was passed on to the local people by word of mouth.

A named parishioner would lead the priest to the Mass Rock. A person would climb up and stand on top of the high rock to keep a look out for soldiers.

A story tells of a battle fought near this Mass Rock where many people were killed. Near this battlefield there is a stream and there is said to be a stone which has the footprint of a saint. It is known as the “Saints Track”.

Another story tells of a time when a priest was going to celebrate Mass there. He was told that the soldiers were coming. His reply was to let them do their best. When he started to pray a thick fog set in. The soldiers lost their way in the fog and had turn back. The story says that one of the horses got drowned in the mountain.

In later times Mass was said in buildings of various types known as Mass houses. A government report of 1731 stated that in Tulla “there are two Mass Houses, a very old one and another new one”

Entrance road to the Mass Rock At Loughaun

The Mass Rock at Loughaun was forgotten about for hundreds of years. The tradition was revived in the 1980’s when the Mass Rock was cleared of years of overgrowth. On June 5^th 1988 the first mass since Penal times was said there by Fr. Pat Malone. Every year since then Mass is celebrated at the Mass Rock on a special day during the summer.

There was no proper access to it until Coillte Teo., constructed an access trail to the site. The walk to the Mass Rock is 2.5km in distance. It is considered a moderately challenging route. It takes an average of 1hr 9 mins to complete.