TD would like to see more Dáil Masses

Independent TD Mattie McGrath, who organised Ash Wednesday Mass in Leinster House for the distribution of ashes, said he’d like to see more such liturgies in the corridors of power.

Mr McGrath told The Irish Catholic that there was a big interest from deputies, senators and Oireachtas staff.

“We had one [a Mass] in November for the dead,” he said, and he felt it made sense to have a Mass on Ash Wednesday when “lots of people want to get ashes but would have had to go out looking for them”.

“There was a great turnout of members and staff”, he said of the Ash Wednesday Mass, explaining that the members’ dining room was packed with TDs, senators and staff.

Pointing out that British parliamentarians “have Mass every week in Westminster” where Meath-born Canon Pat Browne is formally assigned to the spiritual care of Catholic MPs and peers, Deputy McGrath said such liturgies shouldn’t be seen as unusual in national legislatures where there are people of difference religions. “There should be a place provided somewhere in Leinster House for celebrations,” he said.

The Mass was celebrated by Dublin-based Redemptorist Fr Gerry O’Connor.