Penal Days in Ireland: 'For the Irish, it was always the Mass that mattered'
A determination to maintain the celebration of Mass, often in very difficult circumstances, was a defining feature of Catholicism in Ireland during Penal times, writes Frank Rogers
During Penal times, where the celebration of Mass became associated with a certain place, attempts were made to cover the field altar, with the structure known as a scáthlán or bothóg. An example is preserved in Carn graveyard, near Pettigo, where it is built into the side of the churchyard wall.
