Paisley Diocese – A Sign of Peace and Reconciliation
‘Let us pray for each other, let us pray together that the Lord will grant us unity and help the world so that it may believe.’ Pope Benedict XVI It has been said that the during the 19 th century, the women of Gweedore in County Donegal used to wear brightly coloured Paisley shawls to Sunday Mass. It is believed that these beautiful Paisley shawls were brought back from Paisley by Irish textile workers returning to Donegal. Contemporary Traditional Latin Mass enthusiasts might be surprised to learn that the women of Gweedore also wore Paisley pattern handkerchiefs as head coverings, rather than Spanish lace mantilla veils. This quirky little historical fact points to a long standing and well established, two-way movement of people between the counties in the north of Ireland and Paisley, over many centuries. Indeed, in 1812 Fr William Rattray of St. Mirin’s records that almost 73% of all marriages in Paisley were Irish born couples, mostly coming from Antrim, Doneg...