Details provided on 31 Christmas Masses to take place in Athlone

31 Masses are set to be celebrated in the Athlone area between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with St Mary's Parish, Ss Peter and Paul's Parish and the Friary all working together to provide a safe environment for as many people as possible.

The first of these Masses is an online-only children's Mass from Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church in Coosan at 5.30pm Christmas Eve, and the final Mass will be in St Mary's Church on Christmas Day at 12.45pm.

Speaking about the logistics and rational behind the number of Masses, Fr Declan Shannon said that he, Fr Gabriel Kinahan, Fr John Deignan and others all agreed that a large urban area like Athlone required a joint approach.

He explained that "under level 3, all churches were granted a concession for the month of December for Christmas. Our task was to have a system in place where we can serve as many people as possible. The answer to that was to put on extra Masses."

These Churches will operate at a reduced capacity, with each church being obliged to close their doors once full capacity has been reached. However, with the number of Masses, and proximity between the town's churches, there is a hope that Mass-goers can attend another Mass if a church is full.

"For example, if Mass in St Mary's Church is full at 7.30pm on Christmas Eve, there is another Mass at 8pm in St Anthony's Friary," Fr Declan explained.

A ticketing or raffle system for an area the size of Athlone would have been too difficult to implement, he added.

"Our priority was firstly, to make each church as safe as possible. Then we had to address the demand. With such a spread out area like Athlone, a ticketing system would have been fraught with administrative difficulties. So the final option was staggering the times of Masses and having plenty of Masses.

"There is no competition between the different churches. We all serve the one area, and the one God, so it was important that that came first."

Each church will have its own safety protocols. Separate doors of entry and exit will be in place, the wearing of face masks will be required, and no Mass will be longer than one hour.

Choir singing will also not be permitted this year due to COVID-19 regulations.

"The choirs add such a special element to Christmas, but unfortunately they cannot go ahead this year. I spoke to all the choir directors, who would normally be flat-out busy this year, and thanked them for their willingness to carry on, but health and safety must be our number one priority."

Ushers will sanitize seats between each Mass, and will keep count of the number of people entering the buildings.

People from the one household will be permitted to sit beside one another as they will be considered as one 'pod', while pods and individuals must remain two metres apart from one another.

For example, engineers estimate that a mixed-occupancy congregation of 20% individuals, 30% couples, 30% household of three and 20% household of four, with strict social distancing in St Mary's Church would allow for 128 spaces for people to sit in. The same make-up in Coosan Church will allow for 158 spaces, but these numbers may vary depending on the composition of family numbers and the number of individuals who may attend.

"Stickers at two metre intervals are on the seats, which mean that there is still space as long as there are stickers not sat on to be seen," Fr Shannon explained.

"We aren't fully sure of the demand yet. People who live abroad might not come home, so it's difficult to account for them. It's a similar situation with people living in different counties who might celebrate Christmas away from home so as not to risk spreading the virus. We simply might not get the crowds in comparison to other years."

The first Mass will be a Children’s Mass, online-only, with the idea being that families with younger children can tune into the livestream before getting ready for bed.

"We wanted to make a child-friendly Mass to accommodate those who would prefer to stay at home. This will manage numbers, and anybody can access it by listening to Athlone Community Radio or through our parish website stmarysathlone.ie"

He also reiterated that the obligation to attend Mass on Christmas Eve or Day has been lifted, with the Bishops allowing for attendance at Mass at any of the twelve days over Christmas.

"We have been overwhelmed this year with support and generosity from our parishioners. Whether that's baking a cake, dropping in donations or just phoning to check in, everyone has been really positive.

"We would just like to ask for patience, understanding and tolerance for this new system," he finished. "We are sure that people will step up and help out in implementing it."

All services from Our Lady, Queen of Peace, St Mary's Church, the Franciscan Friary and Ss Peter and Paul's will be livestreamed.

Athlone Community Radio will also stream the child-friendly Mass on Christmas Eve, the 7.30pm Mass in St Mary's on Christmas Eve and the 11.30am Mass in St Mary's on Christmas Day.

The Mass times are available below.