A 400-year-old chalice that was taken into hiding as Cromwellian forces spread across Ireland has been returned home, five years after it was discovered in the United States.
At nine inches in height, the gold chalice is not quite as tall as the World Cup trophy which the eyes of millions are on this week, but there was a sense of “it’s coming home” to Sunday’s celebration.
The “wandering symbol of Irish faith”, as it has been described, was presented by the man who discovered it, Msgr Liam Kelly, to the parish priest of Kiltoghert Fr Francis Garvey in St Mary’s Church, Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim, at 12pm Mass.
The historic and much-travelled chalice has a cup three inches in diameter, a base of 4.5 inches and a paten about five inches broad. It will will be retained in the parish where it began its life 378 years ago. The plan is to present it on loan to St George’s Heritage Centre in Carrick on Shannon, where it will be kept safely on public display.
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Historian and Leitrim man Msgr Kelly established that in 1644 the Muintir Eolais Chalice was given to the Jamestown Franciscan friary in the south of the county. It had the inscription “Pro residentia fratru[m] minorum de Munter olius 1644″ (for the residence of the Friars Minor of Muintir Eolais 1644) inscribed on its base.
On March 19th 1653, Jamestown fell to Cromwellian forces and the friary was suppressed. The Franciscans and other priests were ordered to leave the country. Instead, they hid in the woods and mountains of south Leitrim, bringing the chalice with them and using it when they celebrated Mass in secret.
While conducting research in 2017 Msgr Kelly discovered that the chalice still existed and was in the US at Mount Saint Joseph convent of the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, Ohio.
When he contacted people there he discovered that neither Veronica Buchanan, archivist for the Sisters of Charity, or members of the religious community had any idea where the chalice originated or where Muintir Eolais was. They were delighted to learn that Muintir Eolais was an area of approximately seven parishes in south Leitrim, where the Jamestown friary had been situated.
How the Muintir Eolais chalice ended up in America remains a mystery. It is thought that Irish Franciscans brought it there, possibly to Santa Fe or Albuquerque in New Mexico, in the decades after the Famine. The Sisters of Charity had a mission in New Mexico and Franciscan priests used to celebrate Mass in their convent, which may explain how the chalice came into their possession. It is believed to have been in the convent at Cincinnati for over 100 years.
Last May Veronica Buchanan contacted Msgr Kelly to say the convent in Cincinnati was downsizing and that they were looking for a new home for the chalice. It was agreed St Mary’s Church in Carrick-on-Shannon, the parish in where the chalice began its life, would become its new home.
Last October Msgr Kelly travelled to Cincinnati and brought the chalice back to Ireland.
Former administrator of Kilmore Catholic diocese, which includes most of Cavan as well as parts Leitrim and Fermanagh, Msgr Kelly is currently parish priest of Ballyconnell Co Cavan. In 2006 Msgr Kelly said the funeral Mass for his cousin, writer John McGahern, at Aughawillan Co Leitrim, having been with him in the days before he died.
