FROM nine months to 94 years, up to 5,000 pilgrims made their way up a mountain in darkness on Easter Sunday as they gathered for the Dawn Mass.
Some walked for over four hours to attend the fourth annual Easter Dawn Mass at the summit of Mount Leinster in the Blackstairs Mountains, Co Carlow.
Among them was 94-year-old Rose Cotter who travelled from Cheltenham in England.
Eamonn Keane and Michael Manning left their home in Borris, Co Carlow, at 4am before walking for almost two hours to reach the peak for sunrise.
"I wouldn't be a regular churchgoer," explained Mr Keane, who said the dawn ceremony gave him a "spiritual" feeling. It was his third year to attend.
Mr Manning said he believed the Catholic Church's message was "still relevant".
Doves
"When there was no recession, we weren't thinking about things the way we are now. We've come back to reality," he said, before adding that he decided to come out for "inner healing".
Fire and music filled the air before doves were released in a symbolic gesture.
Father-of-three David Connors hoisted his infant son on his back, watching as his teenage son held up a red flag as part of the Easter ceremony.
Looking emotional, he explained that he had "private" reasons for coming to pray.
Five-year-old Michaela Roche and her two sisters, Amy (7) and Chloe (12), were well wrapped up in coats, hats and fleece blankets as drizzle and cold weather set in.
Their parents, Paul and Kate Roche, made a family event of the Dawn Mass by bringing their children to the Blackstairs Mountains after leaving their house in Ballinkillen at 4.30am.
Local curate, Fr Paddy Byrne, who has thousands of followers on Twitter, kept in touch with his parishioners from the summit.
"Greetings from a wonderful Dawn Mass filled with joy and hope. An estimated 5,000 people attended, truly a most special morning," he tweeted shortly after 6am Easter Sunday morning.
Fr Byrne, along with Bagenalstown parish priest Fr Declan Foley, had led a group up Mount Leinster where they kept an all-night vigil.