Iirish Chauffeurdriven tour to Holy Shrine at Knock.

This morning, Hurricane Ophelia had passed on, and we were greeted by a really beautiful day,with glorious sunshine all day long. What a lovely change, but that once again is so typical of Irish weather. We were on our way to the Holy Shrine in Knock in County Mayo where Our Lady appeared back in 1879. It has been recognised as a genuine holy place, and has long been associated with many miracles.Many people travel there and credit Knock with very special personal experiences.

On our way from Galway to Knock we passed through some really lovely countryside, and i took this picture above, of these sheep, happily grazing in the sunshine, with the ruin of an old landlord's home in the background.

There are major works underway in Knock at the moment, as next year is the year of the family, and it is being held in Ireland, and it is hoped that Pope Francis may be coming to Ireland, and to Knock, to join in these celebrations. Due to this work, we were unable to go inside the old church, or the Shrine chapel itself, but i took this picture of the ladies, with the old church in the background. The apparition appeared on the outside of the rear wall of this church. 

Pictured from the left, we have, Jodi, Judy, Caroline, Caryn, Renee, Donna, Rita, and Mary.

When you have eight ladies to look after, one of the major tasks is to make sure that you get their names right,as you can be in serious trouble if you do not. If i fail to Blog again tomorrow, please understand as i may simply be recovering.

Even though the old church was closed, we were able to visit the wonderful Basilica, which was built to commemorate the visit of Pope John Paul 11 back in 1979. Here we have the ladies, with the Basilica in the background.

My group of angels, inside the Basilica, with the wonderful mosaic of the apparition on the wall behind the main altar.The story of what happened in Knock is well worth reading, and it is easily found by simply Googling "Knock".

We also visited the Museum at Knock, and in this picture we have, from the left, Mary, Renee, and Donna, inside this replica of an old Irish cottage, which was typical in the Knock area at the time of the apparition. This picture shows the kitchen area, with the open fireplace to the left, where all of the cooking took place. These houses would have as little as two rooms, and would house a family of maybe ten or more children and their parents. This museum is well worth a visit.

We enjoyed a really nice break for a snack in the restaurant at the museum. I know that there does not appear to be much food on this table, but i was a little late taking my picture, and the girls do not hang about.In this picture we have, Caryn, Renee,Donna, and Rita.

Well, the other girls were not to be left out, I took this picture before their food had arrived, except for Jodi, who really does like her food, and was fast off the mark.She had the same as me, a delicious Egg mayonaise salad.

Another lovely picture of my lovely ladies, with the gardens and Basilica in the background.

The girls finally agreed to allowing me to get into the photographs, but only barely, as i was squashed in, and actually pushed downwards, which makes me look a lot smaller than i really am. I still think that i look well though, as you can see for yourself. Yes that is me, third last from the right.

The others are,from the left,Renee, Caroline, Caryn, Rita, Mary, Jodi, yours truly, Donna, and Judy.

Well, on reflection, that was a really nice, and very special day, and we all did enjoy ourselves. 

Tonight the ladies are staying in the lovely little town of Kinvara, and at this moment, they are out on the town, getting to know the locals and enjoying some local food in one of the excellent restaurants in this town.

Tomorrow we head for the mighty Cliffs of Moher, and then on to Killarney as we begin our tour of the southern part of this wonderful country. Please come along and enjoy.

A very special thank you to all of my friends in the USA, who wrote to me yesterday, wishing us all the best as the hurricane approached, and told me how they were praying for us here. There are still an awful lot of wonderful people in this crazy world of ours, and it is nice to remember that. Thank you all again. You are in our prayers also.