National Army provide guard of honour at Corpus Christi processions
Cashel, 3 June, 1923 - Today for the first time in 300 years, benediction of the holy sacrament was given inside the gates of the historic Castle at Cashel, on the occasion of the annual Corpus Christi procession.
The traditional route of the procession has been a short one, moving from the Parish Church to the adjoining Presentation Convent’s grounds where the Benediction was given. However, a week before the staging of this year’s procession, the Right Reverend Dean Ryan announced to his parishioners that this year’s event would proceed through the streets of Cashel with the benediction given in the Rock.
In advance of the procession, the town was given a serious spruce up, with streets and lanes cleaned and whitewash and paint applied where necessary. Locals gladly participated in this beautification effort, but they were also assisted by the local garrison of the National Army.
For the procession itself, the local garrison provided a guard of honour to the Sacred Host and members of the new Civic Guard walked alongside National Army soldiers in the procession.
Corpus Christi procession to the Rock of Cashel (Image: Irish Life, June 1922)
The Civic Guard station was decorated for the occasion, as indeed was the old burned out RIC barracks, masses of ivy helping to conceal the ruins, along with the religious pictures that were hung from the front railings. Evergreens and floral arches were everywhere and many of the homes in the town were bedecked in papal colours.
When the procession reached the grounds of the Rock and the benediction service commenced, the national Army was ordered to ‘present arms’ as Dean Ryan blessed the people with the sacred host.
At the conclusion of the service, the Dean also delivered a short address in which he thanked the people of Cashel for their efforts and, in a reference to recent turmoils, he prayed that the irish people would forget their bitter memories and hatreds and once again bring back Christian righteousness and rectitude to their lives. Once he concluded his address, the procession reformed and returned to the parish church where benediction was given.
Similar demonstrations of catholic piety took place in other towns where Corpus Christi processions attracted large faithful crowds. In Co. Monaghan, as in Cashel, the local battalion of the National Army took a lead role in the procession, where they marched with fixed bayonets at St. Macarten’s cathedral.
Corpus Christi Procession at Rochestown (Image: Cork Examiner, 4th June 1923)
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
