Our Lady of Rushen

With roots dating back to the 1249 miracle of Our Lady of Rushen, the congregation of St. Mary's Church hold an annual procession of Our Lady from the church in Castletown to Rushen Abbey.

The carrying of a Catholic statue of St. Mary along the dual-carriageway past the airport and through Ballasalla with the Castletown Metropolitan Silver Band is an unusual sight. Nigel McFarlane here explains why the annual procession was started in 2015, what it means for the local Catholic community, and something of its roots in Manx history.

This film was created by Culture Vannin in 2017 in order to document this aspect of Manx cultural life and to record a part of a developing Manx identity.
This film was made thanks to the assistance of Jasmin Samson and Nadya Derkozlieva, of University College Isle of Man. Gura mie eu!

This film is also available in a Manx language version: