Monsignor James Horan

Biography

Monsignor James Horan is best known as the parish priest of Knock, Co Mayo. He is most widely known for his successful campaign to bring an airport to Knock, his work on the Basilica, and is also credited for inviting Pope John Paul II to visit Knock Shrine in 1979. Before Knock, he was situated in the parish of Aghamore, Tooreen. He was known there for creating a dance nights, his became one of the country’s best-known venues for a very unusual reason. It was reported that the Devil himself attended a dance in the dancehall back in 1954. The story earned huge publicity for Tooreen dance hall, which continued to flourish well into the 1960s. Horan died while on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, just...