The 14 hour journey to Knock on wooden crates for seats in a Ford 10 cwt

When I was a child in the 1950s in the small Carlow town of Tullow, trips to the shrine at Knock were part of growing up.

My first visit came the year I received my first Holy Communion in 1951, and my brother Pat and I excitedly boarded the train for the 182km trip to Mayo.

Throughout the journey, between recitations of the Rosary, we waved at the people on the platforms of the various stations we passed through and marched up and down the carriages.