Congress prayers by Limerick parishioners

A GROUP of young adults from Moyross had the honour of leading morning prayer at the Eucharistic Congress at Dublin’s RDS.

The group - Louise Ward, Orla Flanagan, Clara Conway, Dean Quinn, John Mitchell, and parish priest Fr Tony O’Riordan - lead hundreds of youngsters at the opening of the fourth day of the international faith festival.

Speaking to the Limerick Chronicle, Fr O’Riordan said the group were approached in advance to speak in a dedicated youth space within the RDS.

He said it is a fantastic boost for the speakers, their families, and the Moyross area as a whole.

“For the people involved, it is a huge thing for them to stand up in a public space in front of a large group of strangers and read prayers publicly. They all acquitted themselves fantastically. So it was a great boost for them to represent Moyross and Limerick. It is another instance of Moyross peple doing ordinary and good things,” Fr O’Riordan said.

The group all received special packs including Eucharistic Congress t-Shirts and jackets.

Commenting on the luminous green t-shirts and jackets, one of the group, Clara Conway, jokingly said: “Well if they can’t hear us, they will certainly see us!”

She added: “Seriously though this is a deadly thing to be asked to do and we are all excited about it.”

The prayer service took place at 10am last Wednesday morning.

The speakers were spurred on by a group of young people who travelled from the Limerick Pastoral Centre to the Congress.

Meanwhile, on Sunday just gone, parishioners travelled from Moyross to the closing mass of the Eucharistic Congress in Croke Park.

Fr O’Riordan said those who attended the Congress gave the Moyross group a good reception.

“They were touched by what we did. We had planned the prayer before we went up, and people came to us indivudually and as a group, and were impressed by what we did. We stayed around for a bit of the day, and people recognised us, and told us what we did was very touching and moving,” he said.