All posts tagged Máméan

  • August 3, 2014

    Máméan Pilgrimage

    Máméan is a mountain pass pilgrimage located in Galway between Connemara and Joyce Country. The traditional pilgrimage is practiced on the first Sunday in August, linking back to the Celtic harvest feast of Lughnasa. Pilgrims walked, sometimes barefoot, from either side of the Maum Turk Mountains to the site. St Patrick’s Bed, two holy wells and a number of leachtana are the focus of older customs, while more recently a revival of the pilgrimage has involved the performance of the Stations of the Cross and the saying of mass.

    The more recent additions of the small chapel and the statue of St Patrick stand next to the grotto containing St Patrick's Bed.

    The more recent additions of the small chapel and the statue of St Patrick stand next to the grotto containing St Patrick’s Bed.

    Pilgrims circling on of the leacht at the site. They throw a stone into the centre after completing their rotations.

    Pilgrims circling on of the leacht at the site. They throw a stone into the centre after completing their rotations.

    Tobar Phadraig or St Patrick's Well, one of two wells on the site. It is rounded as part of the pattern.

    Tobar Phadraig or St Patrick’s Well, one of two wells on the site. It is rounded as part of the pattern.

    The cross leads the pilgrims around the site, with prayers, reading and singing at each station.

    The cross leads the pilgrims around the site, with prayers, reading and singing at each station.

    The group following the cross in completing the Stations of the Cross

    The group following the cross in completing the Stations of the Cross

    These photos were taken during the 2012 pilgrimage.

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  • March 29, 2013

    Stations of the Cross

    The Stations of the Cross are a feature found at different pilgrimage sites. They are a Christian devotional practice that allows participants to retrace the events surrounding the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday through prayers at 14 (15 in contemporary Catholicism) ‘stations’. At different holy wells and sites I’ve visited, the actual ‘Stations’ (plaques, crosses, icons) seem to be relatively recent additions.

    The inclusion of the Stations in these spaces, which in some cases pre-date the popularisation of the practice in the medieval period, may have numerous functions. They can provide a focus for those who are unsure of other devotions associated with a site or for spaces that have no clear traditions; however, it could be suggested that they also represent attempts to bring the performances into more orthodox realms.

    Regardless, the Stations serve as the basis for individual and communal worship and prayer at these sites. The are an optional devotion for pilgrims/visitors; while also being the main activity in some places, such as feast days at Máméan, Connemara.

    St Olan's Well, Aghabullogue, Cork: the Stations can be seen in the background circling the side and rear of the site.

    St Olan’s Well, Aghabullogue, Cork: the Stations can be seen in the background circling the side and rear of the site.

    St Fanahan's Well, Mitchelstown, Cork: the Stations, a series of small crosses, are on the inner side of the oval path behind the well.

    St Fanahan’s Well, Mitchelstown, Cork: the Stations, a series of small crosses, are on the inner side of the oval path behind the well.

    Máméan, Connemara: Pilgrims, led by the cross, complete the Stations on the traditional August pilgrimage day.

    Máméan, Connemara: Pilgrims, led by the cross, complete the Stations on the traditional August pilgrimage day.

    Related: 

    Ireland’s Holy Wells Blog‘s post on St Patrick’s Well, Clonmel offers some thoughts on the Stations of the Cross at that site.

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  • February 5, 2013

    Máméan: Chapel and Bed

    Máméan (the pass of the birds) in Connemara is a rugged pass in the Maamturk mountains. A small complex of features mark this out as a site of pilgrimage:  ‘St Patrick’s Bed’ a rock located in a small hollow/grotto, two holy wells, a small chapel and a set of the stations of the cross, the latter two being more recent addictions. Stony paths lead up from either side of the ridge. The photo shows the chapel, the structure over St Patrick’s bed and a statue of the saint on the main pilgrimage day 2012, the first Sunday in August. The white wooden cross leaning against the chapel is used in reciting of the stations of the cross.

    No Comments / Pilgrimage /