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

46
the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints at the south gable
of the chapel. I went with him. When I reached the south
side of the chapel, we saw the image of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, having her hands uplifted, and her eyes turned up to"
wards heaven, as if in prayer, and she was dressed in a white
cloak. To her right I saw St. Joseph, and on her left St.
John, just as the other persons had told me before I came.
I saw an altar there, and figures representing saints and
angels traced or carved on the lower part of it. The night
was dark and raining, and yet these images, in the dark night,
appeared with bright lights as plain as under the noon-day
sun. At the time it was pitch dark and raining heavily,
and yet there was not one drop of rain near the images.
There was a mitre on St. John's head, nearly like to that
which a bishop wears. I was there only for one quarter of
an hour ; at the time I was there, five other persons were in
it with me, looking on at the Apparition. All the figures
appeared clothed in white; the whiskers on St. Joseph were
an iron gray ; the Blessed Virgin had on a white cloak. The
reason I had for calling the third figure St. John is because
some saw his statue or his likeness at Lekanvey parish
chapel.
The fifteenth witness is John Durkan, one of the three who
accompanied young Hill. His testimony is the same as that
given by each of the Beirnes.
Note. —The Beirne family spell their name Beirn, or Beirne : correspon
dents spell the name "Byrne," which is in sound the same.