During the course of my education in Catholic institutions, I have learned about the strong relationship between Irish history and Catholicism, and thus I was excited to explore my religion through another dimension in Galway. After talking with many of my new peers, however, I realized that young Irish Catholics rarely practice the deep-rooted faith that I thought characterized this population.
At Georgetown, I am part of a population of students who actively practice their religion. I walk into Dahlgren Chapel every Sunday at 11:00 p.m. and kneel alongside a cluster of friends during mass. We are surrounded by pews of other students who squeeze a late-night mass into their busy schedules. Despite having chaotic lives outside of faith groups, student lectors and Eucharistic ministers always run the Catholic services with grace. This weekly ritual creates a strong sense of community within the Catholic students and within my own friend groups, and I was excited to find this same sense of community with Catholic students in Galway.
On my first Sunday in Ireland, I participated in the 9:00 a.m. mass held at the Galway Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven. The Galway Cathedral, positioned along the Corrib River and adjacent to the National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) campus, is the last great Cathedral to be built in Europe (1958–1965). At almost any point in the city, you can orient yourself with the cathedral’s iconic dome and stone pillars. On account of its epic history and physical presence, I could not wait to participate in Sunday mass and engage with a new Catholic community. When I opened the wooden doors to enter the Cathedral, however, I was surprised that I saw almost no college-aged people in the congregation. Even though NUI Galway is not a Catholic institution, I was still startled by the marked lack of young adults at the service. This mass was the first time that I saw the discrepancy between the practice of Catholicism, which is dwindling among young people, and its values and history, which are visibly ingrained throughout Irish culture.
While my generation of Irish Catholics may not be attending mass as often as I initially thought, the residue of Catholicism is undoubtedly visible on many parts of daily life. For example, shops and restaurants will not open until 12:30 PM on Sundays, which allows families to keep holy the Sabbath Day and to participate in mass on Sunday morning. In addition to affecting business life, the sentiments of Catholicism influence family relationships. Students spend Monday through Friday on campus and then travel home for the weekends. Initially, I thought students were being coddled by their families and were not actually “living on their own.” I realized, however, that traveling home creates an incredibly strong sense of family, which again aligns with Catholic principles.
In addition to business practices and family relationships, Catholic roots also affect daily Irish verbiage. For example, as I was preparing for my first rugby game last weekend, one of the captains yelled, “It’s a big day for the parish!” I was confused by this colloquialism, but one of my Irish friends explained that this phrase has roots in Catholicism. Irish cities and towns were built around parishes, and subsequently sports teams, such as rugby and football teams, were built around the parish as well. In essence, the people reciting prayers in a church congregation were the same people yelling chants at a rugby match. Thus, the phrase “it’s a big day for the parish” developed, indicating an important or exciting sport match. While this phrase is no longer deliberately attached to the parish, it nevertheless shows how the landscape and community of Ireland is interlinked with the Church.
Despite the lack of young practicing Catholics, I continue to find daily undertones of Catholicism in Galway. I am eager to explore more extensively how Catholicism and Christianity have shaped Irish society, and why formal religious practice is slowly being rejected by the current generation. Most of all, I am excited to discover how my own faith and religion will change and develop during my time in Ireland.
Samantha Schlageter (NHS'21) graduated from the School of Nursing and Health Studies in 2021, with a major in health care management and policy and a minor in statistics. Samantha spent the fall 2019 semester in Galway, Ireland, and shared her reflections through the Junior Year Abroad Network.
