Pilgrimage Practices: Embodied
mobilities of pilgrims in Ireland
In this poster, I will present an
overview of my engagement with pilgrimage practices, as an embodied mobility,
in contemporary Ireland. The research will be based on pilgrimage as it is
manifest in case-study sites: local/regional devotional sites, primarily holy
wells, in the Cork/Kerry region and a national pilgrimage space, Croagh
Patrick, Co. Mayo. Pilgrimage, a religious/spiritual or meaningful/sentimental
practice, has a distinctly spatial nature. Pilgrimage has been the topic of
geographic interest for several decades now; however, the recent ‘mobilities
turn’ offers new possibilities for the study of pilgrimage. Treating pilgrimage
as an embodied mobility allows for research that is focused on movement as
geographical concept. The active nature of pilgrimage means that both subjects
(pilgrims) and spaces (sacred places/landscapes) can be seen to be defined by
and to emerge through their interactions with each other. In theoretical and
methodological terms, I am eager to engage with pilgrimage in terms of both its
representational (meanings, symbols, narratives) and
practical/nonrepresentational (experiences, beliefs, the sensual) natures. This
research process aims to further both understandings and appreciations of
pilgrimage practices and discussions regarding the geographies of mobilities.