There was a great turnout on Tory Hill, one of the highest points in South Kilkenny, for the annual climb on Fraochan Sunday. Members of the South Kilkenny Historical Society joined locals and others taking part in the ancient tradition, which pre-dates Christianity and is associated with the ancient Festival of Lughanasa. Near the hill’s summit, John Dwyer, who has written extensively on Pilgrim Paths of Ireland, gave a talk on the traditions associated with Fraochan Sunday.
Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Ossory Dr Niall Coll. Christianity, we are told, transformed Medieval Ireland and Bishop Niall Coll of Ossory referred to this in his address to a large gathering. Without the help of a SatNav, people gathered here hundreds of years ago from Pagan Sun God worshippers to the coming of Christianity to present day Christians.
The major players in Medieval Ireland were all involved — from the Vikings, bishops and abbots, to local and national chieftains. The valley below on a beautiful Sunday, when sunshine held much for them — and even Holly Lake, before it was drained to a smaller lake — was of great importance. It was the centre of a struggle for power between Anglo-Norman and Gaelic Lords.
Its landscape was transformed by them, Including invades like Cromwell in the mid 17th Century, while remaining an important spiritual place for locals and small numbers of travellers alike. Religious sites and pilgrimage routes have played a significant role in Irish history and culture. Both Fr Liam Barron and Bishop Coll honed in on this theme.
It was a first for any Bishop of Ossory to come and celebrate Mass on Tory Hill and maybe it created a bit of local history by it. The summit has been a place of worship, devotion, and pilgrimage for centuries, and continues to be so today. Locals kept it going on the second Sunday in July: Fraochan Sunday.
Many years ago, a pattern was held to mark it. The local Mullinavat Legion of Mary was one of the groups that organised the saying of the Rosary each year for years on end. Called ‘Sliabh gCruinn’ or Tory Hill now, the hill is rocky from about half way up,cover by heather.
Many people on Sunday picked the Fraochans while going up. The like of Tory was a way to connect with it. There are tomb chambers, there are cairns also, and the Farnogue court tomb — the only one in the county, according to books on the subject.
These date back thousands of years before Christianity. The tradition continues of walking up from many directions to the top of the hill where a 1954 Holy Cross was erected by local people, such was their devotion to something special in the area. It was also used by highwaymen, robbers and the outlaw Edward Denn.
GREAT THING It has a giant’s chair, that my grandsons, without hesitation sat on — in fact, they led us up the route. It is a great thing for young boys and girls to do and I am so grateful that we were given their company to do this walk on Sunday. They met the Bishop like many more, in fact hundreds there after Mass, and it was indeed a most historical occasion.
The loop trail way walk is an opportunity for visitors to experience the beauty of County Kilkenny and South Kilkenny in particular, and to connect with the rich spiritual heritage of Ireland. The trail is well-marked: Michael Delahunty, a great man in the area, made it possible to do the loop walk, clearing it of briars and undergrowth. Others did work here also.
The event on Sunday was organised by the local SKHS. Its chairman Eddie Synnott, also addressed the gathering, paying tribute to all, some mentioned here already but also the Waterford Comhaltas Branch and the choir under the direction of Katherine Grant together with all that helped in any way..
