James Horan (Monsignor)
Encyclopedia
Partry
Partry is a parish in County Mayo, Ireland. Partry is an ideal place for people with an interest in fishing to stay. It is located between Loughs Carra and Mask and is on the N84 between the towns of Castlebar and Ballinrobe....
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, was a parish priest of Knock, County Mayo. He is most widely known for his successful campaign to bring an airport to Knock, his work on Knock Basilica, and is also credited for inviting Pope John Paul II to visit Knock Shrine in 1979.
Ecclesiastical career
Educated at St. Jarlath's CollegeSt. Jarlath's College
St. Jarlath's College is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. It is an amalgamation of the former St. Jarlath's College and St...
, Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
, Monsignor Horan trained for the priesthood in St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St Patrick's College, Maynooth is the "National Seminary for Ireland" , and a Pontifical University, located in the village of Maynooth, 15 miles from Dublin, Ireland. The college and seminary are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was officially established as the Royal College...
. He was ordained in 1936, and his first post was in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, where he remained for three years. Having served as chaplain on an ocean liner and briefly in Ballyglunin, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, he became curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
in Tooreen, a small townland close to Ballyhaunis
Ballyhaunis
Ballyhaunis is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line connecting Dublin to Westport and Ballina....
, County Mayo. While there, he organized the construction of a dance hall, which became a popular local amenity. After also serving in Cloonfad
Cloonfad
Cloonfad is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the crossroads of the N83 National secondary road and the R327 regional road.Cloonfad is located around 10 km from the town of Ballyhaunis in Co. Mayo....
, he was transferred to Knock in 1963, where he became parish priest in 1967. Horan was troubled by the struggles of daily life and mass emigration in the west of Ireland and he worked to improve the living standards of the local community.
Knock shrine
While stationed at Knock, Horan oversaw the building of a new church for Knock ShrineKnock Shrine
Knock Shrine is a major Roman Catholic pilgrimage site and National Shrine in the village of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland, where it is claimed there was an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint John the Evangelist and Jesus Christ in 1879.-Details of the apparition:On the...
, which was dedicated in 1976. The shrine was the stated goal of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
's visit in 1979. The pope travelled to Knock as part of a state visit to Ireland, marking the centenary of the famous Knock apparitions. Horan worked with Judy Coyne to organize the papal visit. He was responsible for the refurbishment of the church grounds, along with the construction of a huge church, with a capacity of 15,000. This newly constructed church was given the status of basilica by the pope. The day after the papal visit, Horan began his campaign to build an international airport in Barnacuige, a small village near Charlestown, County Mayo
Charlestown, County Mayo
Charlestown , once named Newtown-Dillon or Ballycattell, is a town in the Barony of Costello, County Mayo, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of two National Primary routes, the N17 and the N5. Until the N5 bypass opened in November 2007, traffic congestion was a problem in the town...
.
Knock airport
Critics regarded the idea of an airport on a "foggy, boggy site" in Mayo as unrealistic, but funding was approved by the TaoiseachTaoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...
, who performed the official opening in May 1986, five years after work commenced. Although Horan had secured IR£
Irish pound
The Irish pound was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £...
10,000,000 in funding from Haughey, following the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
party's defeat in the general election of 1984, his funding was cut, with the airport unfinished. Horan raised the IR£4,000,000 shortfall by holding a "Jumbo Draw". This large lottery succeeded in raising the required revenue, but only after a painstaking tour of several countries, including Australia and the United States. This took its toll on the ageing Horan, and led to his death shortly after the completion of the airport. The airport was originally known as Horan International Airport, but is now officially referred to as Ireland West Airport Knock
Ireland West Airport Knock
-Ground transport:BusBus Éireann currently provide services from the Airport on the Derry-Sligo-Galway and Galway-Sligo-Derry Route 64, Ireland West Airport Knock - Castlebar - Westport - Achill Island route 440, Dublin - Athlone - Ireland West Airport Knock - Westport route 21, and connects with...
.
Death and legacy
Monsignor Horan died while on pilgrimage to LourdesLourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
, just a few months after the official opening of the airport. 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 Knock Basilica. His life and work was 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
Castlebar
Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
, County Mayo on 25 November 2010.
Further reading
- Memoirs, 1911-86 (1992) Monsignor James Horan, edited by Father Michael MacGreil, Brandon ISBN 0-86322-146-7