Knock Cnoc Mhuire |
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Village | |
Knock, County Mayo
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Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 53°47′00″N 8°55′00″W / 53.7833°N 8.91667°WCoordinates: 53°47′00″N 8°55′00″W / 53.7833°N 8.91667°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Connacht |
County | County Mayo |
Elevation | 78 m (256 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Urban | 811 |
• Rural | 1,404 |
Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
• Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
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, at which the Virgin Mary, together with Saint Joseph and 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.
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 became parish priest of Knock in 1963 and achieved three major, landmark accomplishments.
Monsignor Horan died on 1 August 1986.
The local primary school is Knock National School, built in 1966.