Knock to be renamed
The original Irish name for Knock is to be officially changed this year, out of recognition for the village's special religious significance. The village in County Mayo was made famous by a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary, St Joseph and St John to a group of visionaries in 1879. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Sile de Valera, and the Minister of State Eamon O'Culv have announced that the name is to be changed from An Cnoc to Cnoc Mhuire. An Cnoc just means The Hill. The new name will mean the Hill of Mary.