Mass rock

A Mass rock (Irish: Carraig an Aifrinn) was a rock used as an altar by the Catholic Church in Ireland, during the 17th and 18th centuries, as a location for secret and illegal gatherings of faithful attending the Mass offered by outlawed priests. Similar altars, known as Mass stones (Scottish Gaelic: Clachan Ìobairt), were used by the similarly illegal and underground Catholic Church in Scotland, membership in which was similarly criminalised by the Scottish Reformation Parliament in 1560.

During the religious persecution of the Catholic Church in Ireland isolated locations were sought to hold religious ceremonies, as observing the Catholic Mass was a matter of difficulty and danger at the time as a result of the Reformation in Ireland, Cromwell's campaign against the Irish, and the Penal Laws of 1695. Bishops were banished and priests had to register to preach under the Registration Act 1704. Priest hunters were employed to arrest Catholic priests and nonjuring Vicars of the Scottish Episcopal Church under an act of Parliament^[which?] of 1709.

In modern Ireland, a number of Mass rocks remain places of pilgrimage by local Catholic parishioners, with open air Masses offered at some sites. In response to restrictions on indoor gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, services were offered at several Mass rocks during 2020.^[1][2]