A mass path is a

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

track or road connecting destinations frequently used by rural communities, traditionally leading to a church celebrating Sunday Mass. They were most common during the centuries that preceded motorised transportation in Western Europe, and in particular

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

where such a path is called a ''kerkenpad'' (). Mass paths typically included stretches crossing the fields of neighbouring farmers, and were likely to contain stiles when crossing fences or other boundaries and plank bridges to cross ditches. Some mass paths are still used today in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, but are usually subject to Ireland's complicated rights of way law.Coillte trail including mass path; accessed 2010
.

Notes

{{Ireland-stub Footpaths Catholic Church in Ireland Social history of Ireland History of transport in Ireland Historical geography of Ireland

See also

Notes