THOUSANDS of people who flocked to Knock shrine hoping to see an apparition of Our Lady yesterday claimed instead to have witnessed the sun dancing in the sky.More than 5,000 applauded the solar occurrence, said to have happened at around 3.15pm.
Onlookers said the sun "danced in the sky" and shimmered for about 10 minutes before it was obscured by cloud.
However, not everyone was rapturous -- with some people saying it was just an "optical illusion, pure and simple".
"Anybody looking at the sun long enough would begin to imagine things," said one pilgrim.
Others were adamant that something supernatural, possibly life changing, had occurred.
John Tunney from Islandeady, Castlebar, said: "I'm 53 years old and I've never seen the sun go like that before.
"I witnessed the sun go all different colours, yellow, red and green. Then it completely darkened and began shimmering. Sometimes the sun emitted a clean, bright light, then it would darken again."
Mr Tunney's wife Nina said: "The sun was spinning in the sky. I experienced a feeling of total happiness. It is a feeling I would love to experience again."
Maggie Ahern from Castlebar, Mayo, had no doubt that yesterday's happenings in Knock were due to "heavenly intervention" and predicted they would inspire even greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the shrine in the future.
Thousands had flooded to the Co Mayo shrine yesterday after a prediction by Dublin-based clairvoyant Joe Coleman that Our Lady would appear at the old parish church -- scene of the 1879 apparition -- at 3pm.
The crowds stood and waited in the open air despite an invitation on loudspeaker around 2.30pm from Knock parish priest Monsignor Joseph Quinn that those in the grounds enter the adjacent Basilica to participate in ceremonies to mark the annual Dominican pilgrimage.
Monsignor Quinn was not available for comment last night.
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