I mBéal an Phobail

Peadar Bairéad

( I mBeal an Phobail this week recalls the Eucharistic Congress Year of 1932 )

A Nation re-awakening

I still remember the year 1932. Our State was still in its infancy. There was a magic stirring in the atmosphere, and a new spring in the step of the nation. At that time, I lived in the magic land of Erris in West Mayo. One couldn’t but notice at that time the intoxication of freedom still stirring in the heart of the community. Dont imagine now that our people were on the pig’s back, at that time, we were still a long distance from that Utopian land, as many of our people still lived from hand to mouth, and hungry want walked with the people, but there was hope in their hearts and they really felt that, at last, Winter had truly passed.

I still remember the election of that fateful year. We youngsters enjoyed the excitement of the election, with its speeches from the candidates outside Binghamstown \\\\church gates, every Sunday, as we made our way slowly towards Election Day. I remember the odd car decorated with coloured baloons making it’s way slowly over our rutted Erris roads, scattering coloured propaganda leaflets as they went. Yes, without a doubt it was an exciting time to be young and carefree, and not having any idea of the depth of the problems that grown-ups wrestled with at that time in the hungry thirties, but for us youngsters who yearned for fun and excitement, it was all good exciting fun.

At school, our teacher, a Miss Quinn, tried her very best to impress on us the great solemnity of the occasion, and she took us on visits to Binghamstown Church, where she explained to us the importance of the celebration of the Eucharistic Congress which we was taking place here in Ireland, at that particular time, because it happened to be the fifteenth centenary of the coming of Christianity to Ireland, as it was taken to us by our national patron, Saint Patrick, in the year of 432 AD. She told us too, that a like celebration would not happen again until the year 2032, a time when she felt none of us would be able to join in those celebrations, except, perhaps, a few of us youngsters, who might perhaps survive until that far away year.

I recall too, that at that time, our parish priest told his congregation that they should get two flags, the National flag, and the Papal flag, and fly them from the chimneys of their houses to show that they were taking part in the historic celebration. Yes, and they took his advice too, and didnt our village of thatched, cosy, whitewashed, houses look gallant and exciting as it sailed, as they looked like a naval squadron, sailing before a following wind, with all flags proudly flying.

These were some of the thoughts that rushed into the kitchen of my memory recently, when I read that we would hold the next Eucharistic Congress here in Ireland in the year 2012. It was then that I understood that Miss Quinn was mistaken when she told us that the next such Celebration would be held here in the year 2032. And some of the little people of 1932 would indeed be able to celebrate our next Eucharistic Congress!