The audacity of faith

Using the most sophisticated technology of the time, the Eucharistic Congress of 1932 captivated the country, writes Dan Buckley

“AFTER the greatest night in her religious history, Dublin was yawning today, but yawning happily. At 4am rejoicing pilgrims were still singing their hymns in the streets though Midnight Mass had been long over.”

So goes the breathless Cork Examiner report of Jun 24, 1932, on the main event of Dublin’s week-long Eucharist Congress, assigned to the city by the Vatican in honour of the 1,500th anniversary of Ireland’s patron saint.