Knock, County Mayo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Knock Cnoc Mhuire
Village
The roundabout at Knock
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Country	Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	County Mayo
Elevation	78 m (256 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Total	972
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Eircode	F12
Irish Grid Reference	M396818

Knock (Irish: An Cnoc, meaning The Hill – but now more generally known in Irish as Cnoc Mhuire, "Hill of (the Virgin) Mary") is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. Its notability is derived from the Knock Shrine, an approved Catholic shrine and place of pilgrimage where the faithful believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist appeared on 21 August 1879. In the 20th century, Knock became one of Europe's major Catholic Marian shrines, alongside Lourdes and Fatima. One and a half million pilgrims visit Knock Shrine annually. Pope John Paul II, a supporter of devotion to the Virgin Mary, visited Knock in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the apparition. Knock is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Costello.

On 26 August 2018 Pope Francis visited the shrine at Knock as part of a visit to Ireland for the 9th World Meeting of Families.

History

The Parish of Knock covers 45 townlands. 35 of The townlands are in the Costello Barony while 10 townlands along the central western boundary of Knock Parish are in the Clanmorris Barony. Knock is one of the only Parishes in Ireland to be in two Baronies. Knock is located only five miles from the Town of Clare (one of the major market towns of the early 19th century) and is between Clare (Claremorris) and Ballyhaunis.

Monsignor James Horan

Monsignor James Horan became parish priest of Knock in 1963 and achieved three major, landmark accomplishments.

• Construction of a new basilica, Our Lady, Queen of Ireland, at Knock Shrine in 1967 that can accommodate 10,000.
• The construction of Ireland-West Airport
• A visit by Pope John Paul II to visit Knock in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the apparition.

Monsignor Horan died on 1 August 1986.

Transport

Ireland West Airport Knock, which is located 19 km (12 miles) to the north of the village on the N17 road near Charlestown, was opened by Monsignor James Horan on 30 May 1986 and has been an important tourism boost for the village and shrine.

Sport

The local soccer club is Kiltimagh Knock United F.C. established in 2002. Their ground, CMS Park, is situated in Cloonlee on the Knock/Kiltimagh Road, 3 km from the village. There is no other sports club located in the parish area and players from the village often play for neighbouring clubs.

Education

The local primary school is Knock National School, built in 1966.

Images for kids

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  Knock Shrine