Classifications of Sacred Space: A New Understanding of Mass Rock Sites in Ireland

International Journal of Historical Archaeology, Nov 2015

As locations of a distinctively Catholic faith, Mass Rocks are important historical, ritual and counter-cultural sites that present a tangible connection to Ireland’s rich heritage for contemporary society. Recent authors have begun to fill a gap in published literature yet few go beyond traditional assumptions. This paper offers a more contemporary approach to the study of Mass Rocks based on extensive field research in county Cork. It argues for the introduction of new and innovative classifications that expand the accepted archaeological definition and proposes a set of criteria for the more robust verification of potential sites.

A PDF file should load here. If you do not see its contents the file may be temporarily unavailable at the journal website or you do not have a PDF plug-in installed and enabled in your browser.

Alternatively, you can download the file locally and open with any standalone PDF reader:

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10761-015-0326-1.pdf

Classifications of Sacred Space: A New Understanding of Mass Rock Sites in Ireland

Classifications of Sacred Space: A New Understanding of Mass Rock Sites in Ireland Hilary J. Bishop 0 0 Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University , Redmond Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5UG , UK As locations of a distinctively Catholic faith, Mass Rocks are important historical, ritual and counter-cultural sites that present a tangible connection to Ireland's rich heritage for contemporary society. Recent authors have begun to fill a gap in published literature yet few go beyond traditional assumptions. This paper offers a more contemporary approach to the study of Mass Rocks based on extensive field research in county Cork. It argues for the introduction of new and innovative classifications that expand the accepted archaeological definition and proposes a set of criteria for the more robust verification of potential sites. In Ireland, the period 1530-1750 witnessed major changes in the organisation of Irish society (Smyth 2006, p.346). Rather than being simply an inert backdrop to the momentous events that accompanied the advent of Protestantism in Ireland and the energetic attempts of the Roman Catholic faith to resist annihilation, the landscape provided a powerful arena for future devotion that shaped the profound theological, liturgical, and cultural transformations that mark this crucial period (Walsham 2011, p.3). The Penal Laws were passed between 1695 and 1756, although it may be argued that Ireland's Roman Catholics had remained in a state of suppression from Tudor and Stuart times. The degrading and dividing influence of the Penal Laws, enacted in defiance of a Treaty guaranteeing Catholics freedom from oppression on account of their religion, and without the provocation of rebellion, extended to every Catholic; Ireland; Mass rock; Sacred space; Classification - field of Catholic political, professional, social, intellectual and domestic life (Lecky 1891, p.52). The introduction of the Banishment Act of 1697 required all regular clergy, bishops and those exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction to leave Ireland and their expulsion was carried out in a highly efficient manner. Those regulars such as the Jesuits and Franciscans that remained, or filtered back into the country, found refuge amongst wealthy Catholic families or remained under the guise of secular clergy, eventually registering under the Registration Act (2 Anne (1703) c.7 Section 1). All registered priests were required to take an oath of abjuration, accepting Queen Anne as lawful and rightful Queen, and denying the right of James III to the throne (2 Anne (1703) c.6 Section 15). Few priests came forward to take the oath and the remainder forfeited any legal status which the Registration Act had afforded them resulting in a disruption to religious services. Priests went into hiding and Catholic Mass Houses closed their doors (Connolly 1992, p.276). Whilst the Penal Laws managed to limit the public expression of Catholicism, they did not ensure the elimination of Catholicism nor did they result in the mass conversion of Catholics (Bartlett 1990, p.2). Despite Mass Houses being closed and chapels appropriated by Protestant authorities, Mass continued to be celebrated secretively at a number of venues including barns and out-houses and in private homes. It was frequently celebrated under trees and bushes, in ditches and in the open air at altars known as Mass Rocks situated in fields and glens or on mountain sides. The majority of these Mass Rocks are known primarily at a local level with information passed down orally from generation to generation. Emphasising care in the creation and choice of space, the Mass Rock site had to create a space that held meaning and importance for the different aspects of the Eucharistic celebration. The size and proportions of the space had to be sufficient to support the celebration of Mass in all its component parts and, whilst sites needed to either possess the relevant attributes for the celebration of Mass or be adapted accordingly, many sites appear to have been chosen because they were already perceived as ‘sacred’ in some way. This sacredness may have resulted from a certain topographical feature such as a ‘special’ rock or the presence of a sacred water source or tree. Other sites may have been chosen because they had already been made sacred by repeated ritual use in the past. This appears to resonate with research undertaken by a number of authors (Crombie 1988; Finlay 2000; Ní Cheallaigh 2006; Nugent 2008; O’Sullivan and Sheehan 1996) who demonstrate that a number of non-ecclesiastical settings remained a focus for Catholic communities upto the nineteenth century, choosing to bury their unbaptised infants at sites such as ringforts. This suggests that a range of memories and interactions with these sites have diffused from earlier times (Ní Cheallaigh 2006, p.107) and they clearly remained a strong focus for the Gaelic Irish (Nugent 2008, p.89) during Penal ti (...truncated)


This is a preview of a remote PDF: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10761-015-0326-1.pdf

Hilary J. Bishop. Classifications of Sacred Space: A New Understanding of Mass Rock Sites in Ireland, International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2016, pp. 828-872, Volume 20, Issue 4, DOI: 10.1007/s10761-015-0326-1