Michael Kelly“Many parts of ‘official Ireland’ suffer from a combination of amnesia and blindness when it comes to faith”, writes Michael Kelly
Organisers of the Dublin City Marathon moved the event to a Sunday this year for the first time. What’s curious about the decision is the fact that absolutely no consultation took place with parishes along the route affected by the road closures. In effect, many parishioners along the route were unable to make it to Sunday Mass. Some Dublin parishes said that their attendance was down sharply on other weeks (see page 3).
Apparently, the reason why the marathon was moved from the traditional October Bank Holiday Monday was to facilitate tourism. Tourism Ireland pushed for the change in the hope that a Sunday marathon would bring more visitors to the capital – where this was based on a hunch or solid evidence remains unclear.
Road closures
In fairness, race organisers did write to parishes to inform them of the road closures that resulted in fewer people being able to attend Mass. But, the letter was just that – for information. There was no consultation about the change, no assessment of the impact on parishioners, no discussion whether changing the day would cause unnecessary inconvenience for people. By the time parishes found out, it was a fait accompli – a done deal, one might say, between race organisers and tourism chiefs. And, according to the organisers, the marathon will continue to go ahead on a Sunday from now on.
It’s another example of the marginalisation of faith in contemporary Ireland. A recent poll found Mass attendance across the country to be at 40% – this number is higher in rural areas and lower in urban areas. That’s a significant number of Irish people who participate in the same communal activity (going to Mass) on a weekly basis.
The same trend – to marginalise faith – is evident in a lot of the commentary around the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. In fact, in major keynote addresses around the motivation of the rebels, President Michael D. Higgins mentioned virtually every single aspect except faith. This is despite the fact that the book 1916: The Church and the Rising (edited by my colleague Greg Daly) shows that faith played a very important role in the lives of the rebels and the events surrounding Easter week in 1916. But, to look at the official commemorations of the centenary, one would be forgiven for thinking that religion meant nothing at the time of the Easter Rising.
Many parts of ‘official Ireland’ suffer from a combination of amnesia and blindness when it comes to faith. Yet, Catholicism continue to be a driving force for a great many people. Often the marginalisation of faith is not deliberate, it’s just that often the decision-makers are not Mass-goers, and they don’t know anyone who does go to Mass. It’s simply not on their radar.