Pictured at the launch of Knock… and they still come by Fr. Colm Kilcoyne this evening, March 21st in Knock.
Pictures courtesy of Stephen Farragher
Archbishop Michael Neary, Fr. Peter McVerry who launched the book, Fr. Colm Kilcoyne, author, Fr. Richard Gibbons, PP, Knock.Fr. Seán Kilcoyne, brother of Fr. Colm, Fr. Colm Kilcoyne, author, Mrs. Carmel Neary, Manager, Knock Bookshop, Mr. Michael Brennan, Columba Press.
Columba Press
Press Release
March 20th 2012
KNOCK…AND STILL THEY COME – Colm Kilcoyne
133 years after the apparition at Knock the people are still coming. Celebrated on an international scale as a place of pilgrimage, one and a half million people visit the site each year. Why after all these years has Knock remained? In his book, Colm Kilcoyne offers valuable insights into the daily running of Knock and what makes it so special to individual pilgrims and the wider Irish church.
A unique collection of essays, this book offers multiple perspectives from a variety of sources, including an interview with the late PP and Rector of Knock Shrine, Fr. Joe Quinn and includes the visits of Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. Fr Kilcoyne also reflects on the life of Monsignor James Horan, who acquired millions of pounds of state aid from Taoiseach Charles Haughy in order to build Knock airport. In building the airport Mons Horan made Knock more accessible to pilgrims on a global level.
Although many well known people appear in the book the predominant voice is that of the people who form the very core of Knock; the clergy, stewards, handmaids and individual pilgrims. It is very much a collection of contributions by the people, for the people.
Set on an idyllic 100-acre site, Knock offers much more than one would first imagine. Services at the shrine include: daily public devotions and Masses with Anointing of the Sick, Sacrament of Reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, professional Counseling Services, Youth Ministry and Prayer Guidance to name only a few.
You may wonder what it is that draws such a vast number of people to a small rural village in the west of Ireland. Colm Kilcoyne provides us with a resource to answer these questions and gives us a glimpse at the inner workings of Knock through the personal experiences of both staff and pilgrims.
Knock…and still they come, by Colm Kilcoyne is published by The Columba Press, priced €9.99/£8.50
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Shane McCoy
Marketing and Publicity
The Columba Bookservice
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