A home Mass in Ireland. Family and friends are gathered. It is cozy. It is also humble. Connemara is in the west of Ireland, one of the most thoroughly Irish places on the island. It could be that they didn’t have a church, or it could be that the British had persecuted the Catholics to the point they had to have Mass secretly, in a hidden place, as sometimes happened before home rule. We noticed the top hat next to the priest, which suggests he wore a disguise, because priests didn't wear top hats.

Be that as it may, it looks like a lovely Mass. Home Masses today in the USA are some of the most intimate we have experienced. They have a warm, wholesome, grass roots reverence.

The Irish Catholic artist Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) came from an artistic and politically active family. He studied art in Paris, and afterwards lived in Connemara. He eventually moved to the USA. He painted this scene in 1883.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", 1.6" for 11x14" pictures, or 1.75" for 13x17" , 16x20", 18x24" and 24x36". Inquire about special printing needs. Not much needs to be trimmed of the art to go to the edge on this print.

Border sizes are Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.

– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

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Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic.