Colm Fitzpatrick
A Sligo-based priest has resorted to using bottled water for the Mass, following ongoing drinking restrictions on the local water supply.
Fr John Glynn of Kilmatigue parish said that as a result of a boil notice imposed on customers supplied by Lough Talt in Sligo, he has turned to shop-bought bottled water for mixing with the wine before consecration. The mingling of the water and wine in the chalice symbolises the Incarnation of Christ, and failure to add the water is illicit.
Commenting on the notice which requires up 13,000 households to boil and cool down their water before it’s safe to drink, Fr Glynn told The Irish Catholic that the injunction is “frustrating for the whole region”, and that it’s causing environmental damage as residents are forced to buy plastic bottles.
“Well, you have to buy water and the problem is that if you buy it, it’s in these plastic containers and with the thing now about the plastic, what’s the best thing to do?” he said.
The notice was imposed in January last after the hazardous bug cryptosporidium was detected during routine testing. Fr Glynn said the restrictions, which are expected to be in place for at least another two years, affect day-to-day living, pointing out that electricity costs are higher because more water is being boiled.
“If I was drinking water, I’d have some in the plastic bottle, but I’d boil the rest of it. It you’re brushing you’re supposed to use bottled water.”