Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

There are a few placenames in Ireland that carry a particular resonance in our collective memory; places that have become associated with crowds of people who intermittently come from afar to gather, pray and stare. They include Ballinspittle, Co Cork, where the statue of Mary was reported to be moving in 1985, and the Basilica at Knock Shrine, Co Mayo, writes ROSITA BOLAND

Earlier this month, Knock made the headlines again when some 5,000 people gathered there in the hope of seeing an apparition of Our Lady, following the prediction by Dubliner Joe Coleman, who describes himself as “a visionary of our Blessed Mother and a spiritual healer under the energy of the Holy Spirit”. A video posted on YouTube of the sun breaking through the clouds at Knock on October 11th, with a voiceover by Coleman, has to date attracted almost 10,500 views. Coleman is now predicting that this Saturday, at 3pm, Our Lady will appear in the Knock Basilica, and that there will be even larger crowds in attendance this time, now that word is spreading via the internet.