Kieran’s Article, Our City, Our Town,
Cork Independent, 9 June 2011
In the Footsteps of St. Finbarre (Part 259)
Shrine of the Holy Rosary
“Holy Mary in Heaven assumed and crowned look lovingly on those who have helped to construct this rosary shrine in thy honour and those who are helping to maintain it. Take under thy especial care all who say the rosary devotedly on this highway and pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen (inscription on the plaque at Shrine of the Most Holy Rosary, Lee Road, Cork).”
Opposite the Carrigrohane Straight Road on the opposite bank of the Lee is the scenic Lee Road on which lies the Shrine of the Most Holy Rosary. I have not managed to find out who completed the impressive sculpture of the figures but it does look like a Seamus Murphy piece but I am open to correction on that. The last couple of weeks, the column has revealed aspects about Cork in the 1930s. The shrine catapults the visitor forward to 1952 plus is also an important landmark and site of pilgrimage in the Lee Valley.
The shrine was officially opened on the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August 1952 and blessed by Coadjutor Bishop of Cork and Ross Rev. Dr. Cornelius Lucey in the presence of a crowd deemed by the press to be as large as the gathering, which took part in the annual Eucharistic Procession. The Cork Examiner on 16 August, 1952 noted that that the “the attendance at last evening’s ceremony, however, called for a great act of faith on the part of those attending it. About half an hour before the time appointed for the procession to move off from outside the Mental Hospital gates, rain begin to fall. This downpour, however, did not prevent people of all ages attending in their thousands. ”
Between the starting point of the procession and the shrine fourteen large plates bore the representation of the fourteen mysteries of the rosary. As the procession moved along the road the rosary was given out over a loud speaker attached to a motor car, by Rev. Patrick O’Farrell, C.C. Clogheen. The paper revealed that these temporary mysteries would later be replaced by permanent sculptured representations of the Mysteries of the Rosary. Indeed, a gift of one of the permanent ones had by the unveiling already been made anonymously to the Clogheen Guild of Muintir na Tíre who helped by what the press described as “Cork City friends” – had been responsible for the erection of the Shrine. It was through the efforts of Enniskeane born Rev. Patrick O’Farrell C.C. that the shrine was erected and the ceremony was made possible.
The Cork Examiner reported that “the work of erection has been going on for the past year and a half and, despite the fact that a very great deal of the labour was given voluntarily, the cost will run into some thousands of pounds. It was learned by our reporter that about two-thirds of the cost have already been raised and it is hoped that the confraternities, societies and others will help to clear off the debt and also to donate the remaining mysteries.”
The procession was well under way when the rain came down in torrents. The downpour did not deter the crowd from walking the mile and a quarter and reciting the responses to the Rosary. By the time the huge gathering had reached the shrine, many were drenched. At the shrine the fifteenth mystery of the rosary, the crowning of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven, was recited by all.
The Cork Examiner further reports that “On the Carrigrohane “Straight” Road there were lines of parked cars from which the occupants watched the ceremony across the River Lee. Amongst the crowd near the shrine were priests and laity from all the parishes in the city; representatives of the various religious orders in the city; members of public bodies, including the Lord Mayor (Ald. P. McGrath T.D. etc) “.
In his sermon, South Parish born Rev. Jeremiah O’Leary C.C. in Turner’s Cross, thanked the people of Clogheen District for the “wonderful Shrine they have raised in honour of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary”. The website for the Diocese of Cork and Ross notes that previously and on his return from ministry in England in 1938, Rev. O’Leary had became actively involved in the promotion of Adult Education in Cork as well as throughout Munster. He was also responsible for the diploma course in Sociology at the University College, Cork. He was for many years a council member of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society. He was also a prominent member in the Legion of Mary.
Bishop Lucey unveiled the shrine and blessed the statue, as the press noted “a statue that is real work of art, and which can be flood light”. The rain, which had been falling almost continuously, stopped as Benediction began. Present in a specially reserved place in front of the shrine were a large number of nuns from Mount Desert and from other convents and hospitals in the city.
If anyone has memories of the shrine’s construction or the team behind the Shrine, I would like to find out more; Kieran Mc, 0876553389.
Captions:
594a. Shrine of the Holy Rosary, Lee Road, Cork, 2011
594b. Close-up of figures at Shrine of the Holy Rosary, Lee Road, Cork, 2011 (pictures: Kieran McCarthy)
