Lecture by Dr Bernadette Cunnigham, Friday Oct. 30th, St Patrick's Gateway Centre Waterford, 8pm
Walking a pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia has become phenomenally popular in recent decades. If modern pilgrims chose to follow a traditional route through Spain, such as the Camino Francés starting from the Pyrenees and heading west across northern Spain, they will encounter many medieval churches and religious houses along the way. These places would have catered to the spiritual and mundane needs of pilgrims from Spain, France and further afield through the centuries. Many of them are still in use, and the entire route is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is difficult for present day pilgrims not to be conscious of following in the footsteps of the many thousands of people who made similar journeys hundreds of years ago. Their destination was the cathedral church of Santiago de Compostela where the relics of St James the Great were said to be buried.
Pilgrims from the south-east of Ireland are among the earliest known pilgrims to have made the journey from Ireland. Some of them can be identified and something of their stories can still be told. Waterford and New Ross were important points of departure for pilgrims from Ireland. The existence of medieval churches in the south-east of Ireland that were dedicated to St James the Great are also an indication of the popularity of the cult of St James in the region.
In this talk by Dr Bernadette Cunningham will explore the reasons why people undertook the long and dangerous journey from Ireland to visit the shrine of St James, why they chose Santiago de Compostela rather than Rome or Jerusalem, and and how they might heard about a place of pilgrimage so far from home.
Then as now there were many practical matters to be attended to in planning the journey and organising transport. The routes followed by pilgrims from Ireland were determined by the kind of ships that were available to them. Improvements in shipping may account for the greater popularity of the pilgrimage by the fifteenth century. When pilgrims from Ireland arrived in Spain they would have joined in the pilgrim rituals that were observed by those from other parts of Europe, at the great cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. Not all pilgrims survived the challenging journey and some of those who set sail from the south coast of Ireland were never heard of again.
