Dr. Eugene Hynes, an associate professor of Sociology at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., authored an award-winning book that examines an apparition in Knock, Ireland, in 1879 and its connection to the cultural and religious issues of the day.

Thursday, August 21, 1879, Knock, County Mayo, Ireland: Mary McLoughlin and Mary Beirne stood bewildered at the apparition cast against the gable wall of the local Catholic Church. Within the light hovered the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John. As night fell and the apparition remained, Beirne summoned her family and friends, all of whom witnessed the apparition for hours.

Dr. Eugene Hynes, associate professor of Sociology at Kettering University, authored Knock: The Virgin Mary’s Apparition in Nineteenth Century Ireland (Cork University Press, 2008), which was named co-winner of the 10th annual James S. Donnelly, Sr. Award for Books in History and Social Sciences presented by the American Conference for Irish Studies (http://www.acisweb.com/info.php?type=main). The book examines the County Mayo and the village of Knock for half a century before the appearance of the apparition. During this time, The County Mayo had endured famine and a Land War. Local priests supported landowners instead of tenants, which caused a rift, culminating in a Father Cavanagh denouncing community leaders from the altar. This prompted what Hynes characterized as a “huge ‘indignation meeting’ against him in June 1879.” Soon afterward the apparition appeared.

The clergy publicized the appearance of the apparition without reference to problems in clerical authority that took place before the event. The only means that media learned of the apparition came through Father Cavanagh and his associates.

Hynes’ research included examination of the local culture and his understanding of the context in which the apparition appeared. He also consulted a neglected memoir written by a poor lay person who wrote about the Catholic religion during this period. This rare find and Hynes’ investigation of insider views represent a new approach to the study of one this religious apparition, which now receives 1.5 million visitors each year.

To learn more about Knock: The Virgin Mary’s Apparition in Nineteenth Century Ireland, visit http://www.styluspub.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=208427, or contact Dr. Eugene Hynes at ehynes@kettering.edu.