A Donegal parish priest says demand for 'takeaway ashes' this coming Ash Wednesday has already exceeded their supply.
Parishioners in Clonmany are being offered the blessed ashes to go, as a novel approach to mark the Christian holy day.
Fr Brian Brady has teamed up with his local Centra shop, which has placed the ashes in sealed containers.
These are then left in local churches so they can be picked up safely.
Fr Brady told Lunchtime Live the idea actually came from the Centra owner, Joe Joyce.
"We both felt that a tradition like that, if at all possible, we'd like it to continue.
"But I must say I was resigned to ashless Ash Wednesday... but Joe came up with that suggestion, and also then he also provided the little containers - and I added a little prayer service for the families".
"People will take the little containers and the little prayer service, and in their own homes on Ash Wednesday they can just go through the little service."
He said this service will follow the same 'admonitions' as they would receive in the church, as well as "a little one for the younger ones".
'It just took off'
While he said demand has already exceeded existing supply.
"We blessed them on Saturday night, we did 200 of them... and we left them out in the churches on Sunday.
"And they were all gone by dinner time on Sunday - so we're now trying to dredge up little containers from everywhere to do more."
He said this "met a need of some sort that people had, so we're pleased at that".
And Fr Brady said as far as he knows, his parish is the only one offering this service.
"As far as I know at this stage anyway, unless other parishes take it up, I haven't heard of any other parish doing it.
"I would recommend it now to be honest with you, because we're very pleased with the response and the demand that has emerged".
Centra owner Joe Joyce said it started from talking to local customers.
"I had been talking to a lot of customers in the shop and they were just talking about the year that we had.... we'd be a very rural, traditional parish and that we were going to miss out on the ashes."
"I just had these wee containers and I spoke to our parish priest about it and prepared the ashes in conjunction with himself.
"We didn't really know how it would go, we just figured one per household and he prepared little prayers".
"It just took off - here we are in the national news talking about it".
"I'm very surprised by the response to it, because one of those containers is enough to do a family - and maybe an extended family.
"At the moment we're in the process of getting more".
This is not the first time the Catholic church has taken such an unusual approach.
Back in November, Fr Charlie McDonnell in Co Mayo suggested people 'get Chromecast' to watch Christmas mass services from their homes.
"We're trying to make it as interactive as possible, so people just don't feel they're sitting there, we're encouraging people with Facebook to get Chromecast as well for €40 - if they can afford it - with their Christmas decorations", he said.
While back in 2017, a Galway church offered a more modern way to give out ashes: a drive-thru.
