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Title A nation preferring visions: moving statues, apparitions and vernacular religion in contemporary Ireland Author(s) Allen, William Publication date 2014 Original citation Allen, W. 2014. A nation preferring visions: moving statues, apparitions and vernacular religion in contemporary Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2014, William Allen. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Embargo information No embargo required Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/2105 from Downloaded on 2017-02-12T04:27:54Z A nation preferring visions: Moving Statues, Apparitions and Vernacular Religion in Contemporary Ireland by William Allen, BA., MA. PhD Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the Study of Religions Department, Faculty of Arts, National University of Ireland, Cork. Under the supervision of Dr. James A. Kapaló (Head of Study of Religions) October 2014 Table of Contents Declaration p. iii Acknowledgements p. iv List of Illustrations p. vi CHAPTER ONE: Introduction p.1 Outlines how the moving statue phenomenon has been previously understood by academics, journalists, the Catholic Church and everyday believers and discusses the theory and characteristics of vernacular religion. CHAPTER TWO: Knock: from vernacular shrine to institutional sanctuary p. 41 Chapter Two discusses Ireland’s first prominent Marian apparition at Knock, Co. Mayo and the pursuit of ecclesiastical approval by The Knock Shrine Society and the socio-economic context to contextualise the later reception of the moving statues and apparitions of 1980s-2000s. CHAPTER THREE: Ballinspittle’s Moving Statue p. 73 Chapter Three examines the moving statue of Ballinspittle, its vernacular cult, the creativity of vernacular Marian devotion, the material dimension and the response of the Catholic Church. i CHAPTER FOUR: The ‘mystic grotto’: Mount Melleray p. 121 Chapter Four examines the series of Marian apparitions claimed at Mount Melleray Grotto, Co. Waterford in August 1985 and the annual anniversary celebrations, the vernacular cult of Our Lady of Melleray, the shrine’s topophilia, the material dimension and the response of the Catholic Church. CHAPTER FIVE: The ‘apparition grottoes’ and the houses of prayer: Inchigeela and Doon p.165 Chapter Five examines the apparitions claimed in the West Cork village of Inchigeela, beginning in the 1980s and continuing to the present and the subsequent rise of the attached houses of prayer, the charismatic appeal of the visionaries and the response of the Catholic Church. CHAPTER SIX: Lacking Continuity: Mitchelstown and the other moving statues p. 218 Chapter Six considers the missing factors in the case of the moving statues which prevented them from becoming shrines of significant pilgrimage and Marian devotion by examining the case study of the apparitions and moving statue claimed at Mitchelstown in North Cork. CHAPTER SEVEN: Conclusion p. 238 Appendix p. 250 Bibliography p. 265 ii Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted for another degree, either at University College Cork or elsewhere. _______________________________________________________ William Allen iii Acknowledgements It has been my joy and pleasure to be the beneficiary of many wonderful stories and experiences in connection to Ireland’s moving statues phenomenon. Each shrine of the moving statues phenomenon bares its own incarnation of Mary and has its own story to tell. Alas, for the purposes of my research I was confined to the better known cases of Irish moving statues and apparitions, but along the way I was told of many others which are no less interesting and alluring to the researcher as the famous Ballinspittle is. As I traversed the Irish countryside and visited numerous shrines, and filed through the mass press reports, it seemed unquestionable that there was no part of Ireland untouched or unaffected by the moving statues phenomenon. It takes an individual of an extraordinary and genuine faith to believe that statues can move or come alive, and it takes a very courageous individual indeed to share that faith openly with the wider world. In composing this thesis I have been privileged to work with several such individuals. And so, first and foremost, I owe them the greatest debt of gratitude and acknowledgement, for without them this thesis would have been a mere pipedream. To all those who shared their beliefs, experiences, and stories – both the believer and the sceptic alike – I offer you my sincere thanks. Sincere gratitude also to the Ballinspittle and Mount Melleray grotto committees and The Servants of The Way of The Immaculate Heart, for welcoming me to your shrines and houses of prayer. I especially wish to thank Patricia Bowen, Sean Murray, Muckey, Jimmy Buckley, Margaret Boland and Canon Michael Fitzgerald for the singular kindness they have all shown me in their own ways. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Sr. Karen Kent, for giving me that all important first introduction. Secondly, I wish to thank my supervisor, Dr James Kapalo, for his unfailing encouragement and his endless patience. His advice was always both practical and indispensable. I wish also to thank Prof Brian Bocking, Dr Oliver Scharbrodt, and Dr Lidia Guzy for their guidance and suggestions. A special thanks to Dr Michael Allen, who kindly read the first draft; his advice was gratefully received and his own research on the moving statues phenomenon has informed not only mine but many scholars understanding of the apparition experience. In addition, a thank you to Dr Sile de Cléir for her kind assistance; her understanding of the nature of folk religion is most illuminating. At length, I would like to thank my colleagues on the UCC Study of Religion Postgraduate Programme for their encouragement and support. I wish them all the very best with their own research. iv Additionally, I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role of the staffs of Knock Museum, Cork City Library Local Studies, and UCC Boole Library, for their vital advice and for allowing me a free-reign with their collections. I would like to express the deepest appreciation to Cork County Council for paying my fees. I would also like to thank all the staff of UCC Boole Library, who I thoroughly enjoyed working with in my time as student help; a special thank you to Siobhan Bowman, Elma Byrne, Pat Downing, Martin O’Connor and Teresa Byrne and the Special Collections team, for their encouragement, advice and continuous support. A sincere thank you also to the UCC Study of Religions Department for affording me the superb opportunity to act as a teaching assistant; it was an invaluable source of employment and experience when I needed it most. Finally, but by no means least, I would like to thank my extended family for their goodwill, generosity, and assistance. William Allen 8 September 2014 Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary v List of Illustrations Figure 1.1: Bowman’s Tri-component model Figure 1.2: Map of grottoes and apparition shrines Figure 2.1: Knock Apparition (History Ireland Issue 4, Winter 1996) Figure 2.2: Knock Shrine Apparition Chapel (Photo reproduced with photographer’s permission, 2014) Figure 3.1: Article from The Evening Echo 1 August 1985 Figure 3.2: Damaged Ballinspittle Statue The Irish Press 1985 © Figure 3.3: Photo of Ballinspittle Statue by Martin O’ Carroll, The Cork Examiner September 1985 © Figure 3.4: Parish Priest’s Plaque at Ballinspittle Grotto (Photo by author) Figure 4.1: Melleray Grotto (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 4.2: Melleray anniversary ceremonies advert in The Avondhu August 2013 Figure 4.3: Melleray Holy Water Well (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 4.4: Chris King ‘Melleray Grotto Icons’© (16 February 2007) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/totheking/) Figure 4.5: Pilgrim’s candles at Melleray Grotto (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 4.6: Melleray Grotto Committee Pamphlet © (Photo by author) vi Figure 4.7: Mount Melleray Holy Water Bottle (photo by author) Figure 5.1: Kelley Noonan, Rosemary O’Sullivan, and Marie Vaughan at Gortaneadin Figure 5.2: Map showing location of Inchigeela’s grottoes, the village and the surrounding hinterland. Figure 5.3: Rossmore grotto, Inchigeela (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 5.4: Oratory of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Heart House of Prayer, Doon. (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 5.5: ‘Mother of Love’, Immaculate Heart House of Prayer, Doon (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 5.6: ‘Oh Divine Love’ © (The Servants of The Way of The Immaculate Heart) Figure 5.7: ‘Our Lady of Orsk’ © (The Servants of The Way of The Immaculate Heart) Figure 5.8: ‘The Medal of Truth’ and Prayer © (The Servants of The Way of The Immaculate Heart) Figure 5.9: Medals worn by a Servant of The Way of The Immaculate Heart (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 5.10: Marcia and Fiona at Doon in their monastic robes Figure 5.11: Fiona wearing a scarf at Rossmore grotto Figure 6.1: Mitchelstown grotto (The Avondhu©, 1985) Figure 6.2: Mitchelstown grotto (Photo by author, 2013) vii Figure 6.3: St Fanahan’s Well (2012) (http://liminalentwinings.com/st-fanahans-well- 2012/) Figure 6.4: Flagstone of Original Mitchelstown grotto (1954) (Photo by author, 2013) Figure 6.5: ‘Entrusting Our Parish to Our Lady, 31st October 2008’ (Commemorative Image) Figure 7.1: The Rathkeale Holy Tree Stump (The Irish Independent © July 2009 viii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction Stories of statues bleeding, moving, transforming into other saints, holding out hands, opening and closing their eyes, were encountered as the summer of 1985 became known as the summer of the moving statues.1 Stories such as moving statues, or tortillas bearing the impression of Christ’s face or aubergines whose seeds reveal Arabic script when split, writes Marion Bowman, ‘frequently attract derision and dismissal from religious officials, the media and scholars alike’.2 The sites of moving statues and Marian apparitions and other like phenomena habitually become the medium of mass devotion, pilgrimage and simple curiosity much to the chagrin of religious functionaries within institutional religions.

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