This year marks the 60th anniversary of the erection of the Holy Year Cross on the foothills of The Comeraghs, overlooking Clonmel. Ahead of the annual Mass at 11am next Bank Holiday Monday, August 2nd, staff journalist EAMONN WYNNE looks back at the history of the Cross
The community that erected the Holy Year Cross on Cnoc a Chomortais, or Scrouthea Hill, in August 1950 established not just a significant local landmark but a sign of the country's Christian heritage and a tradition that has endured to the present da
y.
The Cross was installed on the Hill overlooking Clonmel at a height of just over 1,000 feet above sea level.
A hole approximately five feet deep had been dug by a team of volunteers early in the month and a procession to carry the Cross to the hill left Ss Peter and Paul's Church on Sunday, 20th August.
A sense of anticipation, enthusiasm and excitement had gripped the town in the days leading to the event.
An estimated 3,000 people took part in the procession from the church, through the town and to the hilltop. They were led by The Boys Club Band and followed by a representative gathering that included members of Clonmel Corporation, local choral societies, church choirs, Order of St. John, Order of Malta, the army, sporting bodies, the business community and the people of the town.
The Cross was blessed by Very Rev. Dean Byrne, Parish Priest of Ss Peter and Paul's and carried by relays of volunteers.
The Cross committee chairman Jim Taylor had sent a letter of fidelity to the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII some time previously, and Dean Byrne read a reply from The Vatican bestowing a blessing on the proceedings.
The Rosary and Holy Year Prayer were recited and the sermon delivered by local Friar Fr. Colga.
Hymns including 'God Bless Our Pope' and 'Faith Of Our Fathers' were sung as the ceremony drew to a close.
The sense of religious fervour that was so endemic at the time may have waned in the intervening years. But the community spirit, and deeply ingrained faith, from which the pioneers of all those years ago drew upon remain very much alive today.
The Cross is still maintained by a committee based at the Old Bridge and on the morning of each August Bank Holiday Monday Mass is celebrated there by a priest from Ss Peter and Paul's.
The Mass is attended by the Mayor, or Deputy Mayor, members of Clonmel Borough Council and hundreds from the town and surrounding district who faithfully make the annual pilgrimage.
As well as the celebration of the Mass it's a day out for all the family and an occasion enjoyed by young and old alike. It's an opportunity to greet old friends - while stopping along the way to enjoy the panoramic views of the town and countryside, or at the hilltop itself - and maybe meet new ones.
The formal ceremony concluded, many avail of the opportunity to enjoy some refreshments in one of the Old Bridge's hostelries.
The Mass may be the only close-up view all year that most of the congregation will have of The Cross.
