Annual Lourdes pilgrimage falls victim of virus
THE Irish Pilgrimage Trust has announced that this year’s Easter pilgrimage to Lourdes has been cancelled as a result of the threat posed by the coronavirus
(COVID-19).
In a statement issued on behalf of the Trust, its Chairperson,
Helen Kirwan, said: ‘I know this will cause great disappointment but the wellbeing of our guests and everyone travelling as part of the pilgrimage has to take priority..
Speaking directly to this newspaper about the matter Ms
Kirwan, who is a teacher in Coláiste Bríde, in Enniscorthy, said the organisation was left with no option but to make a call on the trip.
‘We have many vulnerable people who would have been making the trip and we have to think of the health and wellbeing of everyone involved,’ she said.
There would have been around 420 people travelling with the Trust from within the south east region and of those around 120 would have been from Co Wexford.
Ms Kirwan highlighted that while not everyone going on the pilgrimage would have been at risk there was enough to warrant the decision being made to cancel.
‘In 2021, it will be our 50th year going over and this year is the first time in 49 years that we won’t be travelling,’ she said.
‘It’s never been cancelled before but we have to look after the wellfare of the pilgrims as our first priority,’ she added.
The IPT’s sister organisation in England has also cancelled its pilgrimage and as Ms Kirwan pointed out: ‘They’ve been going since 1956.’
‘It’s obviously very disappointing for everyone involved and especially the pilgrims who were very much looking forward to it and those who worked so hard to fund raise for it,’ said Ms Kirwan.
‘There are five groups based in county Wexford so we would have had about 120 people going in total,’ she added. ‘Wexford is one of the most active counties in the country.’ In the south east region there are nine IPT groups and nationally there would have been in the region of 1,100 people travelling including pilgrims and helpers.
‘There were six flights booked,’ said Ms Kirwan. However, the IPT also organises two smaller pilgrimages in the summer and so far they are going ahead as planned.
Around 80 people will be travelling on those two trips, however, the IPT will be monitoring the situation and will adhere to guidelines for the welfare of everyone concerned.
The IPT also brings people with special needs on friendship weekends to houses in Galway and in St Helen’s, Rosslare. ‘They will be going ahead this year,’ said Ms Kirwan.
‘We would hope that during the summer we will contact all of the those who are disappointed [with the pilgrimage being cancelled] and see if they are interested in travelling next year,’ she added.
‘County Wexford has been very good to us in terms of fundraising and local people are very good for organising thinks like quizzes and walks and we are very appreciative of that.’
WHILE it was confirmed that Wexford has had no confirmed cases of coronavirus thus far, Wexford County Council is preparing for the arrival of the highly contagious virus, stating that ‘it’s highly likely that it will emerge within the coming days’.
The local authority also announced that it’s preparing for scenarios including high absence rates and complete shut-down as a result of the spread of coronavirus.
At yesterday’s (Monday) Wexford County Council meeting, news filtered through the council chamber that, following high level meetings in Dublin, all St Patrick’s Day Parades across the country were to be cancelled. Regardless, however, Cllr Ger Carthy called on the council to show leadership and cancel the Wexford parades regardless of the outcome of the Dublin meeting.
‘Healthcare workers are working around the clock to contain this thing,’ he said. ‘We need to do our little bit. I’m asking for us to cancel the parades ourselves here and now.’
Acting Director of Services Caroline Godkin stated that the situation regarding the spread of Covid-19 was constantly evolving, but that Wexford County Council was braced for its arrival in the model county. She noted that a special emergency task group had been formed and meets every two to three days to review the situation.
Ms Godkin stated that Wexford County Council is preparing for two scenarios - the first being a high level of staff absence from council departments, the next being a complete shut-down.
‘The health and safety of staff is highly important,’ Ms Godkin said. ‘We don’t have a case in Wexford yet, but it’s highly likely that one will emerge in the coming days. We’re currently looking at travel and it’s highly likely that we will have to postpone any events of this type going forward.’
Cllr Jim Codd felt that the council weren’t taking the threat posed by the virus seriously enough and expressed his surprise that a special meeting had not been called.
‘We need to show leadership here,’ he said. ‘ The first thing that should be done is to cancel all trips abroad. We’ve sat on our