Ballyoughter Pattern and Field Day
The Ballyoughter Patron, known locally as the Pattern, is held each year on the last Sunday in June. Centred on the Church of the Sacred Heart and its cemetery, it is a day of prayer, remembrance and community gathering. It is followed by the annual Field Day in the grounds of the nearby National School, continuing a tradition that has long brought parishioners, neighbours and returning families together.
The word “Pattern” is linked to the Irish word Pátrún and the English word “Patron”. Traditionally, many Irish parishes marked the feast day of their patron saint with prayer and local celebration. Although Ballyoughter Church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus rather than to a local patron saint, the tradition of the Pattern has continued here.
Today, the Ballyoughter Pattern is closely associated with Cemetery Sunday, when people gather to pray for deceased family members, friends and neighbours buried in the church cemetery. In this way, the day brings together devotion to the Sacred Heart, remembrance of past generations, and the strong community spirit that remains at the heart of Ballyoughter.
The Pattern Day Tradition
Pattern Day is part of a long-standing religious tradition in Ireland. In many parishes, people gathered on or near the feast day of a patron saint to pray, remember the dead, visit sacred places and meet neighbours. These gatherings often took place at holy wells, old church sites, graveyards or other places associated with local devotion.
Following the Reformation, and especially during Penal times, Catholic worship was restricted. Despite this, many people continued to gather quietly at holy wells, church ruins and burial grounds. At holy wells, worshippers often performed devotions known as “rounds”, walking around the well a set number of times while praying. Some drank the water or bathed in it, believing it had healing properties, while others left small offerings such as coins, medals, rosary beads or pieces of cloth tied to nearby trees.
The Penal Laws of the early eighteenth century attempted to limit Catholic religious practice, and in some places people could be fined for attending gatherings at holy wells or other devotional sites. However, these restrictions did not end the tradition. Pattern Days continued in many parts of Ireland, combining prayer, pilgrimage, remembrance and community gathering.
In some areas, the custom declined during the nineteenth century, particularly during and after the Famine years. In others, it survived in a changed form or was revived in the twentieth century. In Ballyoughter, the Pattern remains an important part of parish life. Today, it is closely linked with Cemetery Sunday and the annual Field Day, bringing together faith, memory and community in a tradition that continues to be valued locally.
The Ballyoughter Field Day Tradition
For generations, the Field Day was one of the great occasions in the Ballyoughter calendar. Once the formalities of the Pattern were over, local people made their way to the school grounds for entertainment, refreshments and a chance to meet neighbours and friends.
It was also an opportunity for people who had moved away from the area to return, renew old acquaintances and keep in touch with their roots.
Over the years, the Field Day included a wide range of activities, such as the wheel of fortune, pillow fights, trailer backing, auctions, football challenges, basketball games and many more. Some of these activities continue today, while others — including the rifle range — belong to a very different era of Field Day memories.
Do you remember becoming old enough to shoot the pellet gun on your own? Did you ever get the football through the tyre or the basketball through the hoop? Can you remember the excitement of winning at the wheel of fortune, or did you prefer a cup of tea and a chat with friends?
If you have any photographs of the Ballyoughter Pattern or Field Day, please contact the website administrator.
Ballyoughter's Earliest Field Day?
The newspaper clips below record what may be the earliest known newspaper reference to a Ballyoughter parish gathering of this kind. The event appears to have been organised by the Parish Committee as a fundraiser to help clear the debt on the newly built Church of the Sacred Heart and to support the erection of new gates and piers. While further research may reveal earlier examples, these 1887 reports provide an important glimpse of parish fundraising and community life in Ballyoughter in the late nineteenth century. The series of events concluded with a Bazaar on Sunday, 8 October 1887.
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Field Day Memories from the Newspaper Archives
The newspaper pages below offer another glimpse of the Ballyoughter Pattern and Field Day as it was recorded in the local press. Newspaper reports and photographs are an important part of preserving the memory of the day, capturing not only the events themselves but also the people, atmosphere and community spirit that surrounded them.
Together with the photographs and memories shared above, this archive item helps to show how the Pattern and Field Day have remained an important part of Ballyoughter’s parish and community life across the years.
Field Day Gallery
If you have photographs, names, stories or memories connected with the Pattern or Field Day, please contact the website administrator so they can be added to this record.
Newspaper images on this page are reproduced with the kind permission of Wexford County Council Library and MediaHuis, formerly Independent News and Media PLC.