According to historian Niamh Wycherley, author of The Cult of Relics in Early Medieval Ireland, venerating relics is common around the world. "There are many cures attributed to Fr Moore, but the story of the hat is interesting. Fr Moore couldn't come but sent his hat instead, and it seems to have cured the headache," says Anne. After that, Fr Moore left the hat with the family and it's been an object of veneration ever since. "The family tried to give the hat back after it first cured great-grandfather Forde's headache but Fr Moore said, 'No, leave it with the family.'

Source: Irish Independent June 10, 2018 01:30 UTC