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A SPECIAL ceremony has been held in the graveyard of Dunmoyle Chapel near Sixmilecross to honour a 19th-century priest from the parish of Errigal Ciaran who was renowned for his cures and is buried in the cemetery.
Father Patrick Hughes was born in 1846 at the beginning of An Gorta Mór, the Great Famine, and was baptised near the Mass rock at Altamuskin. After receiving his early education at a local hedge school, he entered the priesthood and went on to serve in a number of parishes during the latter part of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century.
In 1894, he was transferred from the parish of Loughgall in north Armagh across the River Blackwater to Eglish in Tyrone.
Such was his standing among parishioners that hundreds, heartbroken at his departure, accompanied him for miles on his journey.
Fr Hughes became widely known for his cures and for his ability to bring spiritual, physical and emotional comfort to those who sought his help.
People travelled from every county in Ireland to see him, while others overseas wrote to him, confident that he would reply to all who reached out.
He retired from Eglish in 1918 and died in 1923. Stories of his life and works were passed down through generations, and many people claimed cures long after his death simply by touching his surplice.
In addition, it was common until relatively recent decades to see his photograph displayed in homes throughout the area.
There is also a long-standing tradition of people taking a handful of soil from his grave for cures, with the understanding that an equal amount of soil from their own locality should be left in its place.
It is believed that even in the 21st century, people from Errigal Ciaran and surrounding parishes continue to invoke the intercession of Fr Patrick Hughes, more than a century after his death.
