Wicklow lads' 50-church journey of faith and friendship

An idea that started as a bit of fun 17 months ago has turned into something much bigger - and more meaningful - for three young men from Co Wicklow.

Since November 2024, Baltinglass friends Luke Doogue, Stephen Patterson and Dylan Byrne have visited 50 different churches to attend Mass - and they're still going.

The idea came about when the group decided to sidestep the Christmas tradition of going to 12 pubs in one night, in favour of visiting 12 different churches over several weeks for Sunday Mass.

Now, some 90 Masses later, they are looking forward to the climax of a busy Holy Week.

"At the start, people thought we were mad," explains 20-year-old Luke.

"They would say, 'What are these young lads going to Mass for?' They thought we were doing it for brownie points. But we just told them we had decided to do something different."

By his own admission, Luke wasn't a regular Mass-goer at the time.

"You have a few people now - CEOs or CFOs. CEO stands for 'Christmas and Easter only'. CFO is 'Christmas and funerals only'. We were a little bit better than that - we scattered one in once in a while!"

The first Mass on what was to become a lengthy list was in neighbouring Grangecon.

"After that, we just kept going. We've been to Mass at churches in Sligo and in Dublin. We have done a lot of Wicklow, most of Carlow, and a good few in Kildare. It stopped being a challenge long ago and became something we genuinely look forward to.

"We try to make an event out of the morning. It's about the journey there, the chat in the car, chatting to the parishioners afterwards. Often the first thing we try to figure out is where are we going afterwards for the cup of tea or a breakfast roll."

Having amassed almost 100 Masses, the friends now feel they are reasonably qualified to assess what makes a "good" one.

For Stephen, the youngest of the trio at 17, music is important.

"We went to St Mary's Cathedral in Dublin and they had a brilliant choir there. I also like seeing the friendly faces. Even though we might be away from our parish in Baltinglass, you see the smiles and it makes you feel at home."

"I do like a short Mass," says 18-year-old Dylan. "It could just be 30 minutes of reflection when you're just with your thoughts and it's peaceful."

Dylan's answer begs a further question: What is the perfect Mass length?

"The shortest we've had was 25 minutes in Knockananna," says Luke. "We've had a few at 26, 27, 28. You often get your best window between 35 and 37 minutes. But we've also had north of 40, up to an hour."

RTÉ News accompanied the friends to Mass at the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Tullow, Co Carlow.

"I can remember the first day I went out to the church and saw the three lads and said to myself, 'What are they doing here?'

"And the following week I was in a different church and I saw the three boys again," says Father Ger Ahern.

"You don't see many of their contemporaries at Mass. But they are coming together, having a bit of fun, having time out.

"It's not that they are Holy Joes - far from it. But it gives me encouragement. And the message will be heard more if it comes from them, rather than the likes of me."

Luke, Stephen and Dylan say the reaction to their endeavours has been "nothing but positive".

For them, this isn't just about faith. It's about friendship and having fun together.

"Now people tell us what we're doing is actually cool. And when you think about it like that, it's great," smiles Luke.

Watch our video to hear more from Luke, Stephen and Dylan