Pilgrimage to Kilcock, County Kildare

Members and friends of the Catholic Heritage Association joined together last Saturday for a Traditional Latin Mass for the repose of the soul of one of our founder members.

Reports of previous Traditional Latin Masses organised by the Association in Kilcock can be found here: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017.

The Patroness of the Parish is St. Coca. You can find out more about her here.

St. Ninian of Scotland began his career in Cloncurry, also in the Parish. You can find out about his connection with Kilcock here.

Buildings of Ireland gives a detailed description of the Church of St. Coca here.

Latin Mass Pilgrimage to Kilcock, Co. Kildare

We are returning to St. Coca's Church, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, on Saturday, 30th June, for a Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon.

Come and Pray!

Mass for Deceased Members

Latin Mass in Kilcock, Co. Kildare

Requiem Mass for Deceased Members - Kilcock 2012

Requiem Mass for Deceased Members 2011

A Requiem Mass for deceased members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association was celebrated yesterday morning in St. Coca's Church, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland. We would like to thank all those who travelled to Kilcock to attend the Mass. We apologize for the errors in the publicity material. We hope you'll keep in contact and attend our forthcoming Latin Masses.

Reports on previous Latin Masses in Kilcock can be found here (2009) and here (2010).

Mass in Kilcock

Mass in Kilcock, Co. Kildare

A Requiem Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) in the Church of St. Coca, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, 26th November, 2011, with the kind permission of the Very Reverend Parish Priest of Kilcock. The Mass will be offered for the deceased members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association.

St. Coca of Kilcock, pray for us!

Two Masses in November

Mass in Newbridge, Co. Kildare

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) in Cill Mhuire (not shown above), Newbridge, Co. Kildare, at 6 p.m., on Friday, 11th November, 2010, with the kind permission of the Very Reverend Parish Priest of Newbridge. The Mass will be followed at 8 p.m. by the Annual General Meeting of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association in St. Anne's Parish Centre, Station Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

St. Conleth of Kildare, pray for us!

Mass in Kilcock, Co. Kildare

A Requiem Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) in the Church of St. Coca, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, 26th November, 2011, with the kind permission of the Very Reverend Parish Priest of Kilcock. The Mass will be offered for the deceased members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association.

St. Coca of Kilcock, pray for us!

Tres abhinc annos

On this day, the feast of St. Coca of Kilcock, three years ago (tres abhinc annos), this blog was started. The first anniversary post and second anniversary post gave earlier statistics.

Of the 500 most recent visitors we have been privileged to welcome, 28.2% came from Ireland (up from second place), 24.2% came from the United States (down from first place), 19.6% from the United Kingdom (including the North of Ireland, according to our statistics provider), 6.4% came from Italy (including a number of visitors from Pontifical Colleges but none from the Holy See this month... come back, Your Holiness!), 2.4% from Canada and 2.2% from Australia.

If you break that down by region, Dublin topped the chart again this year with 11%, Kilkenny was next with 10.4%. Next came Tennessee, Pennsylvania, London and Belfast on about 3% each.

The favourite exit links were the LMS Chairman's Blog and New Liturgical Movement (Joseph and Shawn take note!).

Verbum Patris, New Liturgical Movement and Forest Murmers were the top referrers.

The most popular search words among those 500 most recent searchers were: "fra fredrik crichton stuart" "mt melleray shrine" and "Butler family history". Google (.co.uk, .ie, .com) was once again the favourite search engine but down to 96.1%, followed by Yahoo.

Our two associated blogs had reached 44,935 (http://www.fsspvocations.blogspot.com/) and 253,100 (http://www.tradvocations.blogspot.com/) unique hits by this morning. Our own total was a tolerable 85,197 unique visits.

In the past year we have been especially blessed by the contributions of Recorder (16 posts), Just a Girl (13 posts), Brigit (11 posts), Des 'Doc' Hannon and Maeve 'Shandon Belle' (10 posts each), Ritualist (8 posts), Anka (4 posts) Semper Eadem (3 posts) and Standing Stone (2 posts). We are just short of out 400th post - not bad for 3 years!

St. Brigid, St. Conleth and St. Coca pray for the contributers, for the visitors and for the friends who showed them the way! May everything they publish and every internet visit they make redound to the Greater Glory of God, the honour of His Blessed Mother and the good of souls!

Requiem Mass for Deceased Members 2010

Dr. Comerford, in his Collections on the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, states: "The present parish of Kilcock comprises the ancient ecclesiastical divisions of Kilcock, Cloncurry, Sculloguestown, and Clonshambo."

He continues: "Kilcock derives its name from St. Coca, virgin, whose chief feast was celebrated on teh 6th of June. We find her name calendared in the Martyrology of Donegal also, at the 8th January: 'Cuach, virgin, of Cil-Cuaigh in Cairbre na Ciardha;' and again, in the same, under date April 29th: 'Coningen, i. Cuach i. Ci Finn Maighi.' A gloss on this passage states that the maiden Coniengean, or Cuach, was the pupil or Daltha of Mac Tail, Bishop of Kilcullen. She is stated to have been the sister of St. Kevin of Glendalough, of St. Attracta, and other saints. (See Loca Patr., p. 150. nota) Colgan, it should be added, considers that this was a different person from the Patron Saint of Kilcock. In the Life of St. Ciaran of Saighir, it is stated that "he used to go to the sea rock that was far distant in the sea (where his nurse, i.e. Coca, was), without ship or boat, and used to return atain.' St. Coca was identified with this locality from a very early date. The Annals of Ireland record, in A.D. 774, the Battle of Cill Coice, in which Fearghal, son of Donghal, son of Faelchu, lord of Forthatha-Laighean, was slain by the King Donnchadh. the Holy Well of the Saint, called Tubbermohocca, stood in what is now an enclosed yard in the town. About forty years ago, it was shut up by the occupant of the premises, and the stream diverted to what was considered a more convenient situation."

Dr. Comerford continues: "The present very fine parochial Church was commenced in 1862, by the late Rev. William Treacy, P.P., who had expended £1,000 on the work, when he was called to his reward. He left, partly of his own means, and partly the result of subscriptions, received, £3,000 towards its completion, to effect which cost some £6,000 more. It is in the early gothic style, from a design by MacCarthy, and consists of chancel, nave, and aisles, with a massive tower 108 feet in height; including the tower, which is at the west end, the church is 131 feet in length, and is 60 feet in width. It was dedicated to the service of God, under the invocation of St. Coca, in 1867. Over the grave of the founder, within the church, a monumental brass bears the following inscription: 'Sacred to the revered memory of Rev. William Treacy, who had been 34 years P.P. of Kilcock; the founder of this church, - who departed this life on the 25th May, 1862, in the 59th year of his age. This monument was erected by his affectionate brother, Rev. Felix Treacy, P.P., Balyna.' The beautiful and costly High Altar, and a fine stained-glass window over it, are also memorials of Fr. Treacy, erected by the parishioners. In the porch, let into the wall, is a marble monument, removed from the old church, having the following epitaph: 'To the memory of the Very Rev. Dr. Murphy, P.P. of the united parishes of Kilcock and Cloncurry, and V.G. of the Diocese of Kildare, who departed this life July 9th, 1816, in the 52nd year of his age. This monument is erected by the Protestant and Roman Catholic Inhabitants of said parishes, to testify their high esteem for his most amiable and exemplary character. Munus parvum quidem, sed magnam testatur amorem. A.D. 1817.' Another monument, formerly inserted in the wall of the old church, but now in the grounds near the present vestry, has the following: 'here lieth the body of the Rev. Dr. Dunne, P.P., of Kilcock, and V.G. of the Diocese of Kildare. He departed this life the 6th of March, 1796. His ardent zeal, and unwearied attention to his flock, will live for ever in the grateful minds of all his parishioners. May he rest in peace. Amen. Hodie mihi; cras tibi.' And on the same slab: 'Also the body of the Rev. James Dempsey, P.P., Kilcock. He died, Feb. 28th 1801.'

Dr. Comerford concludes: "In 1872, the fine schools of the Christian Brothers, dedicated to St. Joseph, were erected at a cost of £1,800. the commodious residence of the Brothers is situate on the opposite side of the street"

"The Presentation Convent, dedicated to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has been built as a novitiate for the Foreign Missions, to which the Sisters are sent after Profession. This Convent was established in 1879, by the late Mother M. Teresa Comerford, who, with three other sisters, came from San Francisco for that purpose."

"St. Coca is the patron of the parish of Kilcock; but the former parish church was dedicated to our Blessed Lady Assumed into Heaven. This appears from the Parish Register, in which the parish is styled Parochia Stae. Cogae; and the church, Ecclesia Assumptae Virginis de Kilcock. According to local tradition, a religious house formerly stood on the spot lately occupied by the Kilcock National School.

At 11 o'clock this morning, a Requiem Mass in the Gregorian Rite was celebrated in St. Coca's Church, Kilcock, for the repose of the souls of the deceased members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association. A sizable number of local people joined members from across the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin and outside the Diocese for the Mass. With only one omission, the Common and Proper of the Mass was chanted.

Two Masses in Kildare

In the next few weeks two Masses will be celebrated in County Kildare, but in two different Dioceses, the first in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, the second in the Archdiocese of Dublin:


At 11 a.m. on Saturday, 20th November, a Requiem Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated for the deceased members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association in St. Coca's Church, Kilcock (shown above from NLI Collection c. 1940).


At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 8th December, Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated for the feast of the Immaculate Conception in St. Patrick's Church, Celbridge (shown above from NLI Collection c. 1914).

Masses in Kildare

Mass in Newbridge, Co. Kildare

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) in Cill Mhuire (not shown above), Newbridge, Co. Kildare, at 6 p.m., on Friday, 15th October, 2010, with the kind permission of the Very Reverend Parish Priest of Newbridge. The Mass will be followed at 8 p.m. by the Annual General Meeting of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association in St. Anne's Parish Centre, Station Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

St. Conleth of Kildare, pray for us!

Mass in Kilcock, Co. Kildare

A Requiem Mass in the Gregorian Rite will be celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) in the Church of St. Coca, Kilcock, Co. Kildare, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, 20th November, 2010, with the kind permission of the Very Reverend Parish Priest of Kilcock. The Mass will be offered for the deceased members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association.

St. Coca of Kilcock, pray for us!

Two Years On...

On this day, the feast of St. Coca of Kilcock, two years ago, this blog was started. The first anniversary post gave the following statistics: "4 contributers have published 100 posts. 12,092 visits have been made to the blog by 7,099 unique visitors." Over the past year, 10 contributers have published a further 161 posts. A further 29,192 visits have been made by 18,816 unique visitors. That is, a total of 38,837 visits in the past two years.

Of the 500 most recent visitors, we have been privileged to welcome 24.80% from the United States, 23.40% from Ireland, 22.00% from the United Kingdom (including the North of Ireland, according to our statistics provider), 7.80% from Canada, 3.20% from France and 2.40% from both Australia and Italy. The latter has included visitors from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, the General House of the Dominican Fathers, and the Pontifical North American College. To our one visitor from the Vatican among those 500 most recent we say 'God bless Your Holiness!'

If you break that down by region, Dublin topped the chart with 9.2%, Kildare was next with 7.8%, Ontario visits accounted for 4.6% and Belfast featured 4.4%, just above London at 4%, after which Illinois visited 3%, California 2.2% and Texas 1.8%, the same as Lazio (excluding the Vatican).

The top three downloads were two pictures of the Mass in Carlow Cathedral, followed by the map of the River Lee. The favourite exit links were those relating to Latin Mass Statistics, the Traditional Roman Missal and The Standing Stone.

New Liturgical Movement, The Hermenutic of Continuity, Forest Murmers and Britcat were the source of a great number of the most recent guests. The most popular search words among those 500 most recent searchers were: "senan's holy well," "innisleena abbey" and "cronody." Nobody won the sweep on that one! Google (.co.uk, .ie, .com, .com.au, .fr, .it, .nl, .lk, .lu, .be and others) was once again the favourite search engine by 98.20%.

Our two associated blogs had reached 36,470 (http://www.fsspvocations.blogspot.com/) and 177,703 (http://www.tradvocations.blogspot.com/) by this morning.

St. Brigid, St. Conleth and St. Coca pray for the contributers, for the visitors and for the friends who showed them the way! May everything they publish and every internet visit they make redound to the Greater Glory of God, the honour of His Blessed Mother and the good of souls!

St. Coca of Kilcock

Dr. Comerford's entry on the Parish of Kilcock begins thus:

"Derives its name from St. Coca, virgin, whose chief feast was celebrated on the 6th of June. We find her name calendared in the Martyrology of Donegal also, at the 8th January: "Cuach, virgin, of Cil-Cuaigh in Cairbre na Ciardha;" and again, in the same, under date April 29th : "Coningen, i. Cuach i. Ci Finn Maighi." A gloss on this passage states that the maiden Coinengean, or Cuach, was the pupil or Daltha of Mac Tail, Bishop of Kilcullen. She is stated to have been sister of St. Kevin of Glendalough, of St. Attracta, and other saints. (See Loca Patr.,p. 150.note.) Colgan, it should be added, considers that this was a different person from the Patron Saint of Kilcock. In the life of St. Ciaran of Saighir, it is stated that "he used to go to the sea rock that was far distant in the sea (where his nurse, i,e., Coca, was), without ship or boat, and used to return again." St. Coca was identified with this locality from a very early date... The Holy Well of the Saint, called Tubbermohocca, stood in what is now an enclosed yard in the town."

The well of St. Coca, which appears to have been in the yard of what was the Christian Brothers' Monastery in the Square, seems to have been covered over some time in the nineteenth century.

Tradition has it that St. Coca embroidered vestments for Saint Colmcille.

St. Coca of Kilcock, pray for us!