0:00:02 > 0:00:04This week, we've crossed the Irish Sea,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07to Croagh Patrick in County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09to join thousands of pilgrims
0:00:09 > 0:00:13as they make their way up to the peak 700 metres above us.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Welcome to Songs Of Praise.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40On the programme this week, I discover the origins
0:00:40 > 0:00:44of this historic annual pilgrimage and the legend of St Patrick.
0:00:45 > 0:00:5030 miles inland, Sean Fletcher explores the revered Knock Shrine,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53visited by 1.5 million people every year.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55There's an interaction, there's a connectivity.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59This is a special, unique, sacred place where people can come.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04And I find out about the Celtic Christian who became a Pirate Queen.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Croagh Patrick, known as Ireland's Holy Mountain,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19rises high above the west coast of Ireland.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Six miles from the town of Westport,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26its summit commands views of Clew Bay and onto the Atlantic Ocean.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31For over 800 years, pilgrims have been making their way
0:01:31 > 0:01:35up this mountain, named after the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38And I'm about to join them. But first, our opening hymn today
0:01:38 > 0:01:42comes from St Colmcille's in Holywood near Belfast.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And its message is about appreciating the simple things in life.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Each year, on the last Sunday of July, known as Reek Sunday,
0:03:59 > 0:04:04around 25,000 people climb up this mountain in memory of St Patrick.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09But the true start is further inland.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Ballintubber Abbey was built in 1216
0:04:13 > 0:04:16and is traditionally the starting point for the pilgrimage to
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Croagh Patrick, which is 20 miles west of here.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25Legend has it that in 441 AD, St Patrick spent the 40 days of Lent
0:04:25 > 0:04:29fasting on top of the mountain now known as Croagh Patrick.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31On his journey home,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35he stopped at an ancient spring here to baptise converts.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Shortly afterwards, pilgrimages began.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43And this abbey was built on the site of the well in the 13th century.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46The abbey was built partly to serve the pilgrims.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49This was a place where they would get refreshments,
0:04:49 > 0:04:54they would have Liturgy, it was also a significant place establishing
0:04:54 > 0:04:58pilgrimage as of a way of practising or getting in touch with Christ.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Because that's what pilgrimage is.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02It's a way of shedding what we have
0:05:02 > 0:05:05in order to let God speak to us in some way.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Tell me about the elements of the pilgrimage.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09The first one is penance.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12The penance is not imposing something to make us miserable,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16it's to free us, to be free to love and to think.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19The second thing then is change of heart.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Going on a pilgrimage without change of heart brings no reward from God.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27People going on pilgrimage is different to tourism.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30If you're going as a tourist, you can select your own companions
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and walk with the people you like, and ignore people you don't like.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35With pilgrimage, you include people.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Because that person you include that you'd like to exclude may be Christ.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42And the whole idea is to celebrate
0:05:42 > 0:05:45because, you see, the pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick is
0:05:45 > 0:05:48penitential in its essence, but it's celebratory in its expression.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57A traditional penance is to complete the pilgrimage barefoot.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Today, only a handful of people brave this,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and each has their own reason for doing so.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I mean, might as well do something right if I'm going to do it.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09And since I've been over here as a student for about a year, I figured,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13why not take the chance to go up on Reek Sunday and do Croagh Patrick?
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- How are they doing so far?- We're halfway and not feeling anything,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- so we're almost there! - THEY LAUGH
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Emma and Joe, great to see you on the mountain as well. Is this the first time without shoes for you?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25I've done it once before when I was younger, in school.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27It's Joe's first time doing it barefoot.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- And how are you finding it, Joe? - It's not too bad.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33A bit rough at the start, all right, but once you get used to it, sure, it's grand.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36And, spiritually, what do you get out of it?
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Well, we try to get to Mass at the top to kind of make it worthwhile.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43It's just that everyone's kind of united in it.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46And all doing it for their own purpose, I suppose.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47It's powerful, like.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50You look down and see all the people on the way up.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53It's a good achievement, like, when you get to the top.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56We're off to Tideswell in Derbyshire for our next hymn.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Written by Irish songwriter Cecil Frances Alexander,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02it's a celebration of God's creation.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Croagh Patrick isn't the only place
0:09:52 > 0:09:55pilgrims flock to in this part of Ireland.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Every year, 1.5 million people visit Knock Shrine,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02and it's so popular that they even built the airport next to it
0:10:02 > 0:10:04to cope with the number of visitors.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Sean Fletcher has been along to find out more.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13In the middle of this tiny village,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16with a population of less than 1,000 people,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19is one of the most spectacular sights in Ireland.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21This is no ordinary parish church.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26The village of Knock is 30 miles east of Croagh Patrick and the
0:10:26 > 0:10:30shrine and the neighbouring basilica dominate the landscape around here.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I'm joined by Father Richard Gibbons to find out what
0:10:34 > 0:10:38happened in the 19th century that led to this tiny village
0:10:38 > 0:10:40becoming a place of worldwide pilgrimage.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Father Richard, tell us what's happening here.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Well, this represents the apparition
0:10:52 > 0:10:55that occurred on the 21st of August, 1879.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57A rainy evening - surprise, surprise!
0:10:57 > 0:11:01At eight o'clock in the evening, some people saw a bright light at
0:11:01 > 0:11:04the gable end of the parish church, which is what you're in front of
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- here.- So this was outside. - This whole area was outside.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08And they saw,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12it was identified as Our Lady, St Joseph, St John the Evangelist,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16and right at the centre of the apparition itself was the altar,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20the lamb and the cross, surrounded by what was seen to be angels.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23The apparition lasted two hours.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26There are 15 official testimonies from the local parish here.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28And this is what they would have seen.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31This is exactly what they would have seen
0:11:31 > 0:11:33because the apparition lasted for so long,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36they were able to examine it in absolute minute detail.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43So people got to hear about it, it was reported in the newspapers,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and people just started coming then.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47In fact, there were pilgrimages from Canada
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and Australia within a year or two.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Of course, immediately after the apparition, there were many
0:11:53 > 0:11:56testimonies as to miracles that would have taken place.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Cures and people that said that they would have
0:11:59 > 0:12:01received their sight again and that kind of thing.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05But you do see very old photographs with the wall here festooned
0:12:05 > 0:12:08with sticks and crutches and all of that,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11as a testimony to people who would have perhaps received a cure.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Next-door to the shrine is this remarkable basilica.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Built in 1976,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22it's recently undergone a massive refurbishment, in the hope
0:12:22 > 0:12:25that Pope Francis will visit on his trip to Ireland next year.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28Well, it's an amazing place,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31but there's one thing you just can't miss and it's up there.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32That's the mosaic.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It's one of the largest single pieces of mosaic on a single
0:12:35 > 0:12:37flat surface in Europe.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41It depicts the apparition, of course, of 1879.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42And what we incorporated,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45which hasn't been really done before, are all the witnesses
0:12:45 > 0:12:48that came out on the evening of the apparition itself.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51These were people that came from various different
0:12:51 > 0:12:54parts of the village to see the light at the gable end.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57- What I really like is the rain.- Yes.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00It's coming in at an angle, isn't it? Almost horizontal.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Irish rain gets you, no matter where you go!
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Since we have refurbished the basilica,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10we've seen people simply coming in, sitting down, contemplating
0:13:10 > 0:13:13the mosaic, and reflecting on what Knock means to people.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16And that's what separates this from being just a tourist
0:13:16 > 0:13:19attraction to being a place where people come as pilgrims.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22That's precisely the point. Absolutely.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26This is a special, unique, sacred place where people can come.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29There's an interaction, there's a connectivity,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31there's a religious dimension.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Otherwise, what's the point of it?
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And to celebrate God's Amazing Grace, performing in front
0:13:40 > 0:13:44of Croagh Patrick, on Clew Bay, are Celtic Woman.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32# Amazing Grace
0:14:32 > 0:14:36# How sweet the sound
0:14:36 > 0:14:43# That saved a wretch like me
0:14:47 > 0:14:52# I once was lost
0:14:52 > 0:14:56# But now I'm found
0:14:56 > 0:15:04# Was blind but now I see
0:15:07 > 0:15:12# 'Twas Grace that taught
0:15:12 > 0:15:17# My heart to fear
0:15:17 > 0:15:25# And Grace, my fears relieved
0:15:27 > 0:15:32# How precious did
0:15:32 > 0:15:37# That grace appear
0:15:37 > 0:15:45# The hour I first believed
0:15:53 > 0:15:58# Through many dangers
0:15:58 > 0:16:02# Toils and snares
0:16:02 > 0:16:09# We have already come
0:16:12 > 0:16:18# 'Twas Grace that brought us
0:16:18 > 0:16:21# Safe and thus far
0:16:21 > 0:16:28# And Grace will lead us home
0:16:32 > 0:16:39# And Grace will lead us home
0:16:47 > 0:16:52# Amazing Grace
0:16:52 > 0:16:56# How sweet the sound
0:16:58 > 0:17:05# That saved a wretch like me
0:17:09 > 0:17:13# I once was lost
0:17:13 > 0:17:18# But now am found
0:17:18 > 0:17:26# 'Twas blind but now I see
0:17:36 > 0:17:44# Was blind but now I see
0:17:48 > 0:17:55# I see. #
0:18:11 > 0:18:15The islands of Clew Bay attract tourists from all over the world,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19who come to admire their natural beauty and tranquil setting.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24In the middle of the 16th century, one family ruled the land
0:18:24 > 0:18:26and the sea around these parts,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30and their new young leader broke all the rules.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34What's unusual is that these islands were ruled by a woman -
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Grainne - or Grace - O'Malley.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37She was born in Clew Bay,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41the daughter of the chieftain of the O'Malley clan.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43And she took charge in her mid 20s.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Anne Chambers has written the history of this remarkable woman
0:18:50 > 0:18:54and is meeting me here, at Grace's Castle on Clare Island.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Anne, tell me, who were the O'Malley clan?
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Well, the O'Malleys were one of the many tribes of Ireland,
0:19:00 > 0:19:01or the clans of Ireland,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03but the big difference between the O'Malleys
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and most clans in Ireland were they were a maritime clan
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and they controlled the seas off this coastline,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11off the west coast of Ireland.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Tell me, how did Grace become chieftain?
0:19:13 > 0:19:17A woman could not become chieftain by right of Brehon or Gaelic law,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20but Grace O'Malley simply made herself a chieftain by bravery,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23by courage, by being successful
0:19:23 > 0:19:27and by establishing her own little seafaring empire.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30And also, a little bit of piracy and plunder on the side,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33which was part and parcel of maritime life everywhere.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40This side-line earned Grace the title, the Pirate Queen.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Such was her confidence that when her son was held on grounds of
0:19:44 > 0:19:48treason by the English Tudors, she took her case straight to the top.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55Tell me about the time that Grace O'Malley famously met Queen Elizabeth I.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59Well, in 1593, with the aid of some letters that she wrote
0:19:59 > 0:20:03personally to the Queen, these two elderly ladies sat down,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06did a deal, Grace's son was released and, more importantly,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I suppose, as well, Grace was allowed,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11with permission of Queen Elizabeth I,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15to go back to her former trade, as she euphemistically described it
0:20:15 > 0:20:18as maintenance by land and sea.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Despite making a living through piracy, Grace had a faith,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28and was baptised here at the abbey on Clare Island.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Grace was a Celtic Christian. Tell me about that, Anne.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Well, Christianity in Ireland at the time of Grace's birth
0:20:35 > 0:20:38was still, in theory, Catholic.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42But, of course, the Church in Ireland really had moved away
0:20:42 > 0:20:45in many respects from the Church of Rome.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48For example, the clergy were married and, also,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53the Irish Church was not paying Rome its Peter's pence or its tax.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Here in this lovely abbey, for example,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00the medieval wall paintings do not depict religious iconology.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03There are no images of saints.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07They represent nature, they represent myth and legend
0:21:07 > 0:21:10and they represent aspects of the old Pagan past.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15The Irish Church could be said to have moved into a secular mode
0:21:15 > 0:21:18during the time of Grace O'Malley.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21And how would Grace have squared her piracy with her faith?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Although she's known as the Pirate Queen,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26her piracy was very limited, really.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28It was limited to toll-taking.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33This was a very busy and, indeed, a very dangerous watery highway.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35And ships passing through this had to pass through
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Grace O'Malley's waters.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41So she imposed tolls for safe passage.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Very lovely to see her resting place
0:21:43 > 0:21:47- very well preserved here, in the abbey.- Absolutely.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49This is the traditional resting place of Grace O'Malley.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53And, as you can see, it was a tomb created for somebody of importance.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58She died in 1603 at the great age of 73 years of age,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01which, in the 16th century, was quite a remarkable age.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06And thousands of people make the pilgrimage here every year to see her tomb.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10And I think myself, it is a fitting resting place for a pirate queen.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Our next hymn is a favourite of seafaring folk
0:22:15 > 0:22:17and comes from Port Sunlight in Cheshire.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Throughout history, and in many different cultures,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32mountains are considered to be spiritual places.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Doug Scott was the first British man
0:24:34 > 0:24:37to stand on top of the highest mountain in the world, Everest.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41And he spent many years since giving back to the people of Nepal
0:24:41 > 0:24:43who helped him to achieve his dreams.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45But it hasn't been easy.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Sally Magnusson has been to Kathmandu to find out more.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56After summiting more than 40 mountains in the Himalaya,
0:24:56 > 0:24:57including Everest,
0:24:57 > 0:25:02Doug Scott set up Community Action Nepal in 1991
0:25:02 > 0:25:04to fund much-needed community buildings
0:25:04 > 0:25:06in the mountains above Kathmandu.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13I got started reroofing a school and one thing led to another
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and now we have about 60-odd projects.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20Schools, health posts, porter rescue shelters, that sort of thing.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26But in 2015, two huge earthquakes hit Nepal.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29One of the charity's head teachers was lucky to survive.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Once he knew the children at the school were safe, Purna rushed home.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20They escaped already.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26It wasn't just Purna's school that collapsed.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30All of the charity's projects were affected by the earthquake.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33And Community Action Nepal was faced with a crisis.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59All the trails had been avalanched and were quite unsafe.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00And we were really struggling
0:27:00 > 0:27:05until we came across MAF - the Mission Aviation Fellowship,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07which is a Christian organisation,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11going out of the way to drop supplies in the most obscure places.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Other Christian charities helping Doug with the rebuilding work
0:27:17 > 0:27:21are CAFOD and the Irish Catholic charity Trocaire.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25It's essential that all of us that are helping to rebuild Nepal
0:27:25 > 0:27:29do build back better and put in the features
0:27:29 > 0:27:32that are going to help buildings survive future shocks.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45What's been so heartening, it's the opposite, really, of being
0:27:45 > 0:27:49crushed by this earthquake - I've only been heartened by the response.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It's something else to go over there and see these people with
0:27:52 > 0:27:55so little remain incredibly helpful.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58So we're getting a lot spiritually from them.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01We might help them materially, but they always give me
0:28:01 > 0:28:05and friends of mine on expeditions a lot more back.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25After two hours climbing, and by now shrouded in cloud,
0:30:25 > 0:30:27we finally make it to the top.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34Here, the faithful are rewarded with an unique location for Mass.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36But how did our barefoot pilgrim couple cope?
0:30:36 > 0:30:38It was very spiritual.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42We were both doing it for grandparents of ours who we've lost.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44We're glad we did it now.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46It has been painful, but it was worthwhile doing it.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48We're glad we stuck it out to the top.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50It was fairly heavy rain when we were up there,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53but we feel all the better for doing it.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55We can both say we've done it now it's done.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57It should do us for a few years.
0:31:00 > 0:31:01In next week's programme,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Katherine visits the monastery on Caldey Island,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06near Tenby in South Wales,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10to talk about faith, poetry and modern monastic life.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Josie d'Arby meets the man behind Angelicus,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16the choir which reached the semifinals of Britain's Got Talent,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19whose faith has helped him overcome personal tragedy.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21And there'll be congregational singing
0:31:21 > 0:31:24from the sandy shores of Tenby Harbour.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Well, up here in the wind and rain at 2,500 feet,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33surrounded by all these people, you cannot help
0:31:33 > 0:31:37but be impressed by their dedication to come up here and worship today.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39We're going to leave you now with the final hymn,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42but for now, from everyone on top of Croagh Patrick,
0:31:42 > 0:31:44it's goodbye until next time.