A set of embroideries commissioned by Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats and executed by his sister, Lily, for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress has recently come to light in America. This rare needlework tells a story of Irishness, religiosity and a transatlantic arts and crafts journey.
The 1932 Eucharistic Congress, a celebration of Catholicism and the Eucharist (Christ’s presence in Mass), was the largest spectacle ever held in the Irish State. The religious celebrations also commemorated the arrival of St Patrick to Ireland in 432 AD, adding a uniquely Irish angle to the international event. Its acme was the celebration of mass by the Papal legate, Cardinal Laurie, in the Phoenix Park, which was attended by over one million people. The Irish Free State government, across a variety of departments, indirectly provided ‘considerable‚’ funding and fully endorsed the event.
To read this article in full, login, subscribe or buy this edition of the Irish Arts Review
