The Pattern of Urlaur is an annual festival held on 4 August at Urlaur, Kilmovee, County Mayo[1] since medieval times, to remember the feast day of Saint Dominic.
Patterns were a traditional feature of rural Ireland, held to honour patron saints; "Pattern" being a corruption of "patron".[citation needed]
The Pattern of Urlaur is held near the ruins of Urlaur Abbey. The Abbey was founded around 1430 by the Anglo-Norman Nangle family for the Dominicans, and was dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas. It was built overlooking the banks of Loch Urlaur, but was destroyed in 1654 by Cromwellian soldiers.[citation needed]
Each year on 4 August, the traditional Feast Day of St Dominic, the people of the area gather to celebrate Mass in the "Abbey".[2] The annual 'Pattern Day' starts with a concelebrated Mass in the Abbey, followed by music, sports, novelty events etc.[3]
At the Pattern, traditional food items can be purchased, like dilisk (duileasc), a seaweed.[citation needed]
Douglas Hyde's 1915 collection of Legends of Saints and Sinners contains a tale called "the Friars of Urlaur" that describes the difficulty they had with an evil spirit, disguised as a black boar, that dwelt in the Loch Urlaur.[4]
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