AN ACCOUNT OF THE VISION OF KNOCK
STORY OF IRELAND
By A. M. Sullivan
CHAPTER XCII.
From the Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland (1900)
THE VISIONS AT KNOCK
THERE is a remarkable coincidence in the fact that a wild, desolate region of
the remote, unflourishing county of Mayo, should, in the same year, become the
scene of the inauguration of a mighty political movement that shook the social
foundations to their center, namely the Land League, and also of a supernatural
apparition the most wonderful. The visions at Knock have a celebrity as wide,
and were of a character as mysterious, as those of the Grotto of Lourdes, or of
any others on record.
Bare-faced lie - it took decades for Knock to
become popular and even then it was not Lourdes
From a little book entitled, "The Apparition at Knock," published at Limerick in
the year 1880, I subjoin a description of Knock Church and its surroundings:
"We at length reached our destination at Knock, and recognized the parish church
from what we had previously heard of it, though we were not prepared to see that
it is really the handsome, well-proportioned building it is.
Viewing it as we approach, its cruciform shape, and handsome, square bell-tower,
with corners crocketed and pinnacled, and a cross rising from the apex of the
roof, displays much good taste in its architectural features, not, indeed, to be
expected in these remote Mayo hills. The tower is sixty feet high, and is
furnished with a full-toned, sonorous bell, which may be heard a great distance
as it calls the people to mass. In the tower there is an aperture inside which
opens into the church, and which forms a place for a vocal choir with which the
services are supplied. The height of the church is thirty feet to the top of the
gable, and about twenty-four feet wide. The gable is topped with a plain cross
of large proportions. It was on the face of the gable-wall the apparition was
seen on the 21st of August, 1879. The interior of the church is rather bare;
small stations of the cross; no benches, except a few private pews; one
confessional, and over the altar a not-very-well-done painting of the
Crucifixion. The floor is of cement, but is now all cut up and pitted into
holes, the people carrying away the cement, which renders it impossible to keep
one's foot on it.
An apparition from God that leads to the Church
being desecrated?!
The altar is a plain one—the facade supported by two plain pillars at either
side; and a stained-glass window above, which is inserted in the gable. "Gloria
in excelsis Deo," is the legend over the altar. A lamp always burns before the
tabernacle, in which the Blessed Sacrament is constantly preserved for the
adoration of the faithful. The writer proceeds to narrate the account of the
apparition as related to him by Miss Mary Byrne, and others, who witnessed it on
the evening of August 21, 1879: As my visit was for a twofold purpose, to
investigate facts, and to make drawings, etc., I, in the first instance, made
the acquaintance of Miss Mary Byrne, a highly intelligent and respectable young
lady, the daughter of the widow Byrne, who, with her two brothers and a sister,
lived together in a farmhouse about three hundred yards from Knock Church.
There is no mistaking the earnestness, truthfulness, and sincerity of Miss Mary
Byrne; and it is evident to every one that she is one of the last persons who
could be influenced by imagination, or invent a story. She at once readily
entered into a full account of the apparition, when I informed her of the nature
of my visit and presented my credentials. She stated that on the 21st of August,
at about 8 p.m., there being perfect daylight at the time, before crossing the
boundary wall or ditch which separates the church meadow from their grounds, she
saw the apparition against the sacristy gable—about a foot distant from the
gable, and about a foot in height from the ground, on a level, in fact, with the
meadow grass. She saw three figures—the Blessed Virgin in the middle, St. Joseph
to the left, St. John to the right. To the right of St. John was a Lamb,
recumbent, with the cross laid over the shoulder. To the right of the Lamb was
what she described to be an altar; this was in the center of the gable and
extended up to the window circle from the ground, to the breadth of seven or
eight feet. She was petrified, terrified, transfixed; but, taking courage, she
ran to call her brother, Dominick Byrne, a young man of about twenty years of
age, as fine a specimen of a Milesian as one could see in a day's walk; highly
intelligent, and answering rapidly and clearly every question.
More lies - she had never claimed to be afraid.
She never acted afraid. As for the good daylight that late on a day that
allegedly poured rain?
Mary told Dominick to come and see the Blessed Virgin. "Nonsense, nonsense!"
said he. "What are you dreaming of, girl?"—"Come, come," she replied. "Come and
see and judge for yourself. Come and see what you may see, and believe my word."
He at once proceed to see, followed by his mother, sister and brother. They
passed the schoolhouse wall, and stood in utter amazement at the vision which
they no longer disbelieved in. They were soon joined by others, including
another Dominick Byrne, a cattle jobber of about thirty years of age, a
courageous and powerful man. As they stood gazing at the apparition in profound
astonishment the rain began to fall heavily, and the wind to blow; but they
remained where they stood, drenched with the downpour, and never leaving the
spot. After gazing on it for some time, Dominick Byrne, the cattle jobber, said,
"Let us go over the wall, and come nearer and see what it is all about." "No,"
said Dominick Byrne, Jr., who is clerk of the church, "no, not till the priest
comes down. We shall send some one for the priest." "Let us go in at once," said
Byrne, the cattle jobber, "what can they or she do to us? Surely no harm; and if
harm, why we shall call out. In the name of God, I'll go in; here's my hat, take
care of it."
Again they are at the schoolhouse wall as if
they had to stand there to see it correctly. That was rather far away.
He then went over the wall, the others followed, gradually approaching nearer to
the gable. As they approached, the figures seemed to recede back, closer to the
gable. When they came within two yards of the apparition, though the rain
continued to come down in torrents, the ground was perfectly dry, and there was
a semicircle around the gable—the rain beat down on the gable wall above the
apparition, and stopped when it came to the figures; turning on either side it
ran down to the ground and formed a pool of water, which was collected next
morning in bottles and preserved, by Archdeacon Kavanagh, the parish priest, but
which he has long since distributed to the faithful. ... To the right of the
Lamb was what seemed to be an altar; this extended from the ground to about a
foot of the window-sill of the sacristy, and like the figures, it seemed to rest
on the tops of the grass. It was between seven and eight feet wide. The base of
the altar had on it what seemed to be a large, heavy moulding; and on the altar
there appeared to be, in rows of three, statuettes of angels or saints—Dominick
Byrne could not define which. Mary Byrne could give no description of the altar
whatever. The middle row of angels and saints on the altar was more numerous
than the lowest, and the uppermost more numerous than the other two.
No wonder it was thought to be a projector trick.
The images were intangible so what did they need to go back to the wall for?
This sounds like images that looked flat if you went too close. Projected
images look better at a distance. And the Archdeacon for a sceptic had
converted very quick when he was bottling water hours later! The confusion
about the altar shows the vision may not have been as clear as Byrne at times
liked to make out. The story about the rain behaving so oddly is not in
any other account. All that is said in the earlier account is that the
gable stayed dry.
All the figures seemed to have a slight fringe of silvery cloud under them; the
figure of St. John, was partially concealed, from the knees down, in the cloud;
the position of St. Joseph was that of one in the act of making a profound
obesiance, with hands joined, and partly turned toward our Blessed Lady. The
figure of St. Joseph was clothed in one garment, perfectly white, the hair and
beard somewhat gray, the flesh had a natural tint. The Blessed Virgin stood
facing those. who saw the apparition; the figure was clothed in resplendent
white; on her head was a brilliant crown; her shoulders were covered with a
short mantle; the inner garment full, flowing; her eyes directed downward, her
hands raised to the shoulders, the palms turned toward each other, somewhat like
a priest's when celebrating mass. The hair fell on the shoulders and back in
long ringlets; the feet were visible and covered with a sort of sandal. The
figure of St. John was turned partly toward the altar and partly toward the
people. In his left hand he held a large book; his eyes turned toward it as if
reading, and his right hand raised as if in the attitude of preaching or
confirming his words. The figure of St. John was clothed in one long garment of
white, and on his head was a miter of the same color. A brilliant light
surrounded all the figures, which light, however, had not the effect of
illuminating the places around or outside the circle of the apparition;
brilliant lights were seen to coruscate now and again on the gable.
The silver tone matches other accounts. The
virgins hair is a pack of lies for it was never mention in the original
depositions. Only the figures lit up and we are told the light did not
illuminate the gable much which means it may have been contained. It did
not spread out which means Patrick Walsh who claimed to see a massive light at
the Church was lying or mistaken.
Dominick Byrne, Sr., after gazing intently for some time at the apparition, took
courage and gradually approached nearer, so near as to touch the figures, which
he made an effort to do. An aged female in the group of those who saw the
apparition, endeavored to kiss the feet of the Blessed Virgin, but could feel no
substance. Dominick Byrne, when asked did he endeavor to touch the figures, said
he endeavored, with the open index and middle fingers of his right hand, to
touch the eyes of the figure of the Blessed Virgin, but said he could feel no
substance, though he covered the eyes with the tops of his fingers. After about
two hours from the time the Byrnes first saw the apparition, a messenger came to
them stating that an old woman named Campbell, who resided near the church was
dying. They ran off to see her; when they returned to the church the whole place
was in darkness."
The touching was never mentioned before and would
he really touch Mary's eyes? He says he covered the eyes as if he put them
on an image on a wall.
A second apparition was seen on the 2d of January, 1880, and a third on the 6th
of January following, the Feast of the Epiphany. A large number of persons
witnessed these later apparitions, including the pastor, Archdeacon Kavanagh and
two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The fame of Knock soon spread
throughout the land, and numbers of persons afflicted with bodily ailments and
infirmities flocked there. In many cases miraculous cures took place; and almost
every afflicted person who visited the shrine of Knock obtained instant relief.
The number of pilgrims steadily increased, some from the most remote places; and
many have visited it from England, Scotland and the United States. The
authenticity, both of the apparitions and of the cures effected at the Shrine of
Knock has been established beyond all doubt; and it is asserted that a visit to
the spot, hallowed as the scene of a celestial visitation, will inspire even a
sceptic with feelings of awe and reverence.
These apparitions are without credibility. Even the Church says so. It is a cruel lie to claim that all are cured and that there is no doubt about the authenticity of any of the apparitions.