The Apparitions and Miracles at Knock; also, the Official Depositions of the Eye-witnesses

CHAPTER II.
THE VILLAGE AND CHURCH OF KNOCK—THE APPARITION—
THE VILLAGE.
The Church of Knock, the scene of the Apparition of the
Blessed Virgin, of St. Joseph, and, as the witnesses believe,
of St. John the Evangelist, is adjacent to a village of the
same name, situate in the diocese of Tuam, in the south-east
of the county Mayo, and in the baronial district known as
Costello. This barony borders on the county Roscommon,
along a line of some twenty-five miles, embracing within its
extent the rising towns of Ballaghaderin and Ballyhaunis.
Knock lies on the western boundary of the barony of Cos
tello, adjoining that of Clanmorris and Gallen. To those
who feel an interest in poor-law unions or territorial divisions,
it may be interesting to state that the village lies within the
Claremorris Union. Knock-druim-Calry, as the spot was
once called, is said by Lewis, the writer of the " Topo
graphical Dictionary of Ireland," to be five miles north-east
from Clare, as Claremorris had been called some forty-five
years ago. Standing on the line of railway that extends from
Claremorris to Ballyhaunis, and looking northwards, Knock
stands at the vertex of an irregular triangle, the base of which
is the longest side, and that drawn from Claremorris to
Knock the shortest, namely, five miles, while the third side
to the right, from Ballyhaunis to Knock, is six miles and a
half.
In Gaelic, the name " Knock" signifies a hill. The village
is surrounded by elevated knolls, which are known by the
term "knock," or "druim," or "sliabh," in the language of