Is the amount of money children get for their First Holy Communion ‘vulgar’? 

For many people, the ritual is an important religious right of passage, signifying the age at which a child receives the Eucharist for the first time. 

With Mass attendance waning, others simply see it as a nice opportunity for a celebration and for children it is the first time in their lives they are given large sums of cash. 

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, presenter Shane Coleman acknowledged that it remains an “important sacrament” for many people but said he did not like how much money children are given. 

“If you looked back to Ireland in the early 1970s and you told people back then that in 2024, kids would be getting €1,000 for their communion, they wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. 

“It’s vulgar, it is vulgar isn’t it?” 

A boy makes his First Holy Communion.

Presenter Ciara recalled money was an important part of First Holy Communion even when she was a child but questioned whether any should be handed over. 

“Just to out myself, my kids didn’t make communions or confirmations because I’m not religious and I’m an atheist,” she said. 

“But I’ve been to loads of communions, I’ve been to the ‘afters’ or whatever it might be called and handed over my 20 quid or the 50 quid, whatever was required at the time. 

“I did sometimes wonder about it, am I endorsing this ‘great’ thing that your kid is doing when actually I don’t care if your kid does it not because it means nothing to me but yet you couldn’t possibly go without handing over money? 

“It’s not like you have to give them money because they’re going to the dentist.” 

In the 2022 census, 69% of people in Ireland recorded their religion as Catholicism.

Main image: Shane Coleman in the Newstalk studio. Image: Newstalk