Seasons of Devotion: Knock and the Making of Modern Ireland

Knock is the Lourdes of Ireland, a busy place of pilgrimage in what is historically the poorest part of Ireland. In 1879, when the west of Ireland was racked by the Land War, several people reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary there. Today Knock offers Marian devotion on an industrial scale, and is also home to an international airport from which the newly prosperous people of the region fly to their holiday properties overseas. Sharp-eyed, witty and intelligent, Ann Marie Hourihane tells the stories of this extraordinary place in Seasons of Devotion. See more