Just Back From Knock - Ireland

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I was in Knock two weeks ago! I went on a pilgrimage with my aunt from her parish in Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Knock is a wonderful place - peaceful, friendly, very quiet. We spent time going to Mass, Adoration, doing the Stations of the Cross, going to confession. They have an amazing chapel there just for confessions. The basilica is beautiful, as is the chapel of the Apparition - the figures of Our Lady St Joseph and St John are represented on the south wall of the original parish church where they appeared in 1879, and then the chapel has been built on to this

There are the usual souvenir stalls on the main street, but not too many.
 
Glad to hear you enjoyed your pilgrimage to Knock - imagine it’s only an hour up the road from me and I’ve never taken the trip up! Well, strictly speaking, that’s not true as I believe I was there a number of years ago as a young child, but I don’t remember it in the slightest! I’ve heard there’s a lot of “tack” being sold in stalls - such as glow in the dark statues of Mary etc., so I hope this didn’t affect you adversely…though I suppose all major pilgrimage sites are like this.

Ireland has so many lovely religious sites - Glendalough in County Wicklow (where St Kevin started his monastery) is beautiful and worth visiting. If you want a tough pilgrimage sometime, maybe you could try climbing Croagh Patrick - where the saint fasted for forty days and forty nights; also tough for the body (but good for the spirit!) is St Patrick’s Purgatory on Lough Derg.

Just out of interest - did you happen to visit Galway? It’s my home city and there are some lovely religious (and non-religious) sites - such as the Catholic cathedral and the Church of Ireland (Anglican) church of St Nicholas where Columbus is said to have prayed before he went on his voyage to the New World.
 
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