Reek TV

Blessing Archbishop Neary celebrating Mass in the Reek Oratory last year. Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Reek Sunday Mass to be televised for the first time

Neill O’Neill

IF you will not be among the 30,000 pilgrims expected to make the trek up Croagh Patrick this Sunday (July 27), you will still be able to witness this unique annual Mass and hear the homily of Archbishop Michael Neary, as RTÉ will for the first time ever broadcast Mass from the summit of the holy mountain.
To bring the 11am Mass live to the nation will require airlifting three cameras and equipment to the church beforehand, and running two miles of cables over rough terrain down the side of the 2,510-foot mountain to broadcast vans. As a result of this the Mass schedule for the day has been altered and Masses will now be celebrated every half hour between 8am and 10am, at 11am and every half hour between 12 noon and 2pm.
Confessions will also be available from 7.30am to 2pm, and people who are unable to make the pilgrimage this year are free to send their petitions to Fr Denis Carney at the Presbytery in Westport. These intentions will be included in the 11am Mass and burned afterwards. The theme of the Archbishop’s homily at the televised Mass is ‘Vocation’ – which marks the Year of Vocation this year.
The coverage of the Mass will be presented by Nuala Carey and musicians, including accordion player Brendan Begley, and a choir made up of local groups, will provide music during the celebration. As always, emergency services, including teams from Mayo Mountain Rescue, the Order of Malta and the Civil Defence, will remain on standby for the duration of the pilgrimage.
However, plans to build a helicopter landing pad on the mountain have fallen foul of bad weather on successive Saturdays recently, despite the presence of an Air Corps helicopter in Murrisk last week, which was fitted with specialist equipment for lifting concrete.

Reek Sunday Mass will be broadcast live on RTÉ One television on Sunday next, July 27, from 10.45am.