An altar boy is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy.
‘Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutum meum’ was the first of many Latin responses altar boys had to learn to answer the priest. You might not have a clue what the words meant but you needed to know to put them in the right sequence. You had to get up earlier in the morning than your mates, have your clothes hands and face clean, your hair combed, your shoes polished, know when to ring bells, how to light candles, how to separate all the chains on the thurible and do all of this with grace and dignity. Above all, you had to remain attentive throughout Mass, if you allowed your mind to drift, some of your responses might come out in a language of unknown origin.
You learned to bow to the priest at the right time, how to hold the communion patten so that not even a crumb of the Body of Christ would fall to the floor. It was important to hang up your cassock and surplice carefully and to do everything in a reverent atmosphere. It could be a terrifying experience serving on a high altar in front of a large crowd.
Sometimes, if you got a priest visiting on holidays, he might give you a tip, but weddings usually provided the richest pickings. As for the idea of girls serving the priest – that was unthinkable – sure they had to wear hats or scarves just to get into the church in those days.
Everything changed when they changed from the Latin Mass and turned the altars to face the congregation – today it is those attending Mass who respond to the priest and the altar boys' job is not as onerous.
So today, we have two photographs of some of those boys who served Mass in the Abbey Church years ago. The first (courtesy of the Lardner sisters ) is of the Abbey Mass Servers Rugby Team, 1928. This sounds like an oxymoron to me … how do you play rugby in a reverent way?
Anyway the team are, back row, left to right: Jim Kerrigan, C Lydon, P O’Grady, PJ Kilkelly, D Burke and Brother Felix. Middle row: Joe O’Grady, J O’Donnell, R Fahy (captain ), P O’Donnell and Paddy Lardner. In the front row are P Glynn, J O’Donnell, J Fahy and S Haughey.
Our second photograph was taken at the back of the Abbey on Corpus Christi, 1956 and was given to us by Noel Fahy. Back row: Brother Vivian, Bernard Clune, Vin Flaherty, Staff Cullinane, Michael Nalty, Frank ‘Ruacán’ Heaney, Noel Fahy, Father Kevin.
Fourth row: Joe Flaherty, Joe O’Brien, Joe Varley, Paddy Barrett, Stephen O’Brien and Bernard Lillis.
Third row: Dave Lillis, Liam Kavanagh, Joe Lillis, Pat O’Neill, Pádraic Burke and Murt Cullinane.
Second row: Martin Conroy, Eugene Flaherty, Pete Flaherty, Jimmy Brennan, Joe O’Donnell, Mike Kavanagh, Larry O’Donnell.
Front row: Pat Heaney, Pat Irwin, Noel Burke, Jackie Small, Tony Lillis, Mike Kavanagh, Mike Keane.
Most of the boys were from the Woodquay area and environs, except Jackie Small who had to cycle a few miles in the Headford Road to get to the church.
Michael Nalty’s mother kept a small shop café and guest house, in a building that no longer exists, beside Sally Long’s. The two Flaherty brothers in the second row were from Eyre Street and the two O’Donnell brothers, also in the second row, were from Woodquay.
