Pilgrimage

June 9, 2010;
The annual pilgrimage here each June is now a devoutly Christian event, but with origins that stretch back to pre-Christian Celtic Ireland.

It’s an area of astonishing natural beauty, so even if you are not there at the time of the pilgrimage is well worth visiting.

For generations of Irish people this has been a place to retreat to, for prayer, fasting and pilgrimage. In spite of a changing world many people still make an annual visit.

Although the pilgrimage is a tough challenge, the location compensates somewhat. It’s an island set in a beautiful lake and surrounded by dramatic scenery.

Glendalough in Co Wicklow with its famous round tower was one of the most important Christian monastic settlements in Europe.

It is a mystical and beautiful place to visit and is located in the heart of the Wicklow National Park, one of the most scenic areas in Ireland and a magnet for hill walkers.

Knock is famed as the scene of an apparition of the Virgin Mary, St Joseph and St John the Evangelist and draws large numbers to prayer and pilgrimage.

While many people believe earnestly that an apparition took place in Knock, a more skeptical view also exists and some people believe the figures seen were projected onto a wall.