In the habit for a record
On Saturday, more than a thousand nuns — both female and male — went on a pilgrimage to Listowel.
They marched around the streets, some snook in for a few pints, and all 1,436 of them answered the call and assembled in the local GAA pitch.
They were there to break the Guinness Book of Records for the number of people dressed as nuns in one location.
The event was in aid of Pieta House, a centre for the prevention of self-harm and suicide, and was organised by locals Cora and Martin O’Brien, who lost their son David to suicide in 2007.
Listowel accountant David Fitzmaurice acted as an independent witness for Guinness Book of Records.
“The record was 254, set in Pinewood Studios [England] and we had 1,436 people. It was a great achievement,” he said. “There was a great feelgood factor with it and all the town got on board and all with the primary objective of raising awareness and raise money for Pieta House.”
He said the assembly of the nuns at Emmet’s sportsfield had to be video recorded for ten minutes and that this, plus a sworn statement by him, was being sent to Guinness, who will confirm the record in the coming days.
Everyone paid €20 to take part and more than €20,000 was raised for Pieta House.
Local celebrities Billy Keane and Tadhg Kennelly, as well as Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh and Hector Ó hEochagáin, also took part.
* www.pieta.ie or contact Pieta House on 01 6010000