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 a few months after the official opening of the Knock Airport (Connaught regional as it was known back then). His remains were flown into Knock, the first funeral to fly into the airport he had campaigned for. He was buried in the grounds of the Basilica. His life and work were later chronicled in a musical written by Terry Reilly and local broadcaster Tommy Marren, entitled A Wing and a Prayer. It premièred in The Royal Theatre in Castlebar, County Mayo, on 25 November 2010.