From the charity box, the car window stickers, and religious clocks, strange objects still remain, artifacts of Ireland's strong Catholic following in our midst.
Ireland, in the last centuries, without a doubt, has been considered one of the most Catholic countries in the world. In fact, research by the Central Statistics Office shows that in the 2022 census, 69% of the Irish population identified as Catholic, totaling approximately 3.5 million people.
Furthermore, if on one hand, this trend has seen a significant decline from the 84.2% who identified as Catholic in 2011, on the other hand, the perception of Ireland as a Catholic country could still be felt by observing the national culture, the customs, or simply by observing “religious symbolism ” that is related to it, which we can verify in daily life.
Let’s take some interesting examples:
The “blessed” charity box
If you are in Ireland and you go to buy something in a small shop, mainly if it is located near a church, you’ll probably see these charity boxes strategically placed close to the till so you can drop some coins in them.
They have been used by parishes (or by some associations) to collect funds for projects such as fighting poverty, building a school, feeding the homeless, or organizing a Pilgrimage to holy places such as Knock and Medjugorje, rather than to the Vatican State.
The “blessed” window sticker
On the Emerald Isle, it is very common to see religious car window stickers. For instance, there is Padre Pio, with over 35 prayer groups. Yet, besides being one of the most prayed to saints in Ireland, he is the most popular figure for stickers, especially among families and the elderly.
According to popular religious beliefs, having a religious adhesive sticker on a car is believed to keep the driver and passengers safer and bless them with a lovely trip.
The living room Jesus clock
This last example is a must that can be admired in some Irish houses, like the one of my old Catholic friend Denys, a retired Dubliner who lived part of his life between America and Australia before coming back to Ireland to spend the rest of his time.
While I am eating bacon and cabbage at his house, he often reminds me of the importance of having that clock as a blessing for his own place.
“This is not only a clock he says, I had brought this article with me everywhere: In Australia, when I worked as a painter, and in the USA, where I worked without having papers. It reminds me when it is time for prayers and mass, and, furthermore, that Jesus is part of our legacy, part of our time, part of our Irishness. Now that I’m living in Ireland," Denys concludes. "It keeps the same company it used to keep throughout my life."
In the end, stories like Denys’s, like those of the drivers who seek protection from a saint by putting stickers on their cars, or like the story of the shop’s owner who helps the church by displaying the donation box close to the till, represents a part of Ireland that nostalgically remembers its own traditions with the hope that those may be handed down to the future generations.
*Originally published in April 2021 and updated in October 2025.
This article was submitted to the IrishCentral contributors network by a member of the global Irish community. To become an IrishCentral contributor click here.
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