Siobhán recalls meeting Pope John Paul in 1979
SUNDAY, September 30, 1979. It's a day that will live forever in the memory of Siobhán Geraghty, originally from Eden (Shanvaghera), Knock.
Siobhan was seven years old when Pope John Paul II made his historic visit to Knock Shrine.
A second class student at Coogue NS, Aughamore (now closed), she received her First Holy Communion the previous May.
That year (1979) was designated as the International Year of the Child. Because of this, two First Holy Communicants from Knock parish were to be chosen to participate in the offertory procession during the papal Mass.
The pair chosen were Siobhán and Michael Johnston from Knock.
In an article for Glór Acadh Mór magazine (edited by Joe Byrne), some years ago, Siobhán, now a primary school teacher based in Cross (south Mayo), outlined extensively and in great detail her memories of the great occasion.
She was chosen as a bearer of offertory gifts as a result of her name being plucked from an SMA (baby milk formula) tin by one of the teachers, Helen Murphy.
Siobhán explained in her Glór article: "The lottery was to take place at the end of the school day and needless to say it became increasingly difficult to concentrate on our lessons as the day progressed.
"The moment arrived and the long-awaited draw took place in the corridor outside the classroom.
"All the girls were assembled and were waiting patiently and with trepidation.
"On hearing my name I remember exclaiming 'Oh my goodness'. Profanities were not a feature of my vocabulary back then. This is certainly not the case now.
PROUD GRANDAD
"The first person I told was my grandad Johnny Connelly who was patiently sitting outside in the school bus waiting to drive us home.
"The look of pride on his face was wonderful and he certainly did a fantastic job at disguising the look of apprehension which I now know, as an adult, was certainly there.
"I didn't realise the enormity of the task ahead and it wasn't until I saw the faces of my parents and grandparents on hearing the news that some of the reality of the whole situation started to dawn on me.
"Over the next few days I experienced a whole host of emotions. Pride, apprehension, happiness and to some degree fear swirled around in equal quantities in my seven-year-old mind.
"My days passed in a whirlwind of dress fittings and my scant religious knowledge was lovingly enhanced by my dear granny, Bridgie, who must have thought that all her devoted prayers had been answered at last.
"Photographs of my family and I were taken to allow us enter high security zones around the shrine grounds on the day itself.
"One rehearsal of the offertory procession took place on the Thursday before the pope's visit and Fr. Frank Fahy, a curate in Knock at the time, did a wonderful job of alleviating the nerves that had begun to emerge at that stage.
"The misty, soft day did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm or the fervour of the thousands of pilgrims who walked by my house reciting Rosaries and singing hymns in the hours leading up to the pope's arrival.
PEACEFUL ATMOSPHERE
"A constant stream of people called to the door to ask for water or permission to use the bathroom facilities.
"I often wonder what they must have thought when they were met with the sight of a small girl in her communion dress nervously pacing up and down the corridor of a house a mile and a half the north side of Knock.
"My family and I travelled on foot to the shrine.
"The atmosphere was peaceful and also tinged with anticipation.
"My family had to leave me near the Basilica as only the people directly involved in the ceremony were permitted to be so near the altar. As they left to join the thousands of people in the congregation, I remember feeling very alone and frightened.
"The deafening roar of the 400,000 strong crowd alerted me to the fact that the red helicopter carrying Pope John Paul II had come into view.
"The persistent rain, which occasionally turned quite heavy, did not seem to matter as the pope emerged from his helicopter and walked the short distance to the ambulatory and then into the Basilica where 3,000 sick pilgrims were awaiting his blessing.
"I remember feeling a little disappointed as I did not have a great view of the altar as the Mass began.
"In my child's mind I consoled myself with the notion that I would not have too long to wait for the offertory procession.
"However, it seemed like an age before we were called in line for the procession.
"As the music played and we started to walk the short distance to the altar I felt as though my heart would burst with nervousness and excitement in strong and equal measure.
"Climbing the steps of the 40-foot-high altar was not an easy task for a nervous seven-year-old in a full length communion dress and new, shining, white patent shoes which were beginning to pinch.
TREMBLING HANDS
"I felt as though the bouquet of flowers that I was attempting to carry reverently in my trembling hands could fall at my feet at any moment.
"I knelt at the Holy Father's feet and held my arms outstretched to hand him my bouquet.
"I had misjudged the distance and to my horror I realised that he could not reach them comfortably.
"A wave of panic engulfed me and, in a split second, I wondered what to do next to improve the situation.
"The Holy Father beckoned me towards him and said ‘Come closer, my child’.
"I felt deeply embarrassed as I had to shuffle towards him on my knees in order to reach him.
"The smile on his face at that moment dispelled all my feelings of awkwardness and I knew by his eyes that he recognised my plight.
"He placed a kiss on my forehead and I smiled back at him, hopefully diverting his attention away from my very audible sigh of relief.
"The remainder of the Mass passed me by in a haze.
"I have feelings of uneasiness when I call to mind a huge crowd of saddened people surging forward when they realised that the Pope would not be travelling among them in his famous popemobile at dusk as dusk was falling dangerously.
"It seemed like hours had passed before I saw the proud and somewhat relieved faces of my family.
"In the years that have passed, the memories of that day have inevitably begun to fade.
"I sometimes wonder if the images I hold in my mind's eye are actual memories or have photos and videos I have since seen of the occasion reinforced them. Maybe it's both. I am certain, however, that my feelings towards that day were, and still are, happy and contented.
"The suffering and death of Pope John Paul II in April 2005 affected me deeply.
"Throughout the later years of his papacy I admit that I sometimes found it difficult to concur with a great deal of the late Holy Father's viewpoints within the church.
"The female, adult head on my shoulders was definitely at odds with the warm memories of that wet September day.
"I found it hard to justify my feelings and I tried to reconcile them in my every questioning Christian psyche.
"After his death I came to realise that I didn't need to question some aspects of his papacy.
"When I stripped away the muddled layers of my supposed experiences and opinions I had burdened myself with, I was left a very few simple thoughts.
"The man who helped bridges towards world's ecumenism was the same man who realised the feelings of a First Holy Communicant in a small town in the west of Ireland.
"The Polish man who rubbed shoulders with international dignitaries and world leaders was the same man who beckoned to a simple Irish child to come closer to him.
"The man who placed a simple prayer into a crevice of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem was the same man who placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
"The kind man who went home in April (2005) is the same man I will hopefully meet when I go home too.
"That is what matters."
EPILOGUE
Siobhán Geraghty, now in her 40s, is looking forward to attending the papal ceremonies in Knock Shrine on August 26.
She did not qualify for a Knock parish ticket but was lucky enough to secure one of the 45,000 permits by applying online.
Her mother and father, Dom and Helen (nee Connelly), who were so proud of their young First Communicant on that September day, are also looking forward eagerly to the big occasion.
The communion dress their daughter wore on her biggest of days as well as their papal flag and other memorabilia are still amongst their most prized possessions.
Siobhan's beloved grandad, Johnny Conneely, a famous step dancer - he once appeared on The Late Late Show - so fondly mentioned in the Glór account of her papal adventure, has since passed away.
Following Joe Byrne's retirement, Siobhán became principal of Coogue NS and held that post until the school, a victim of Department of Education rationalisation and depopulation, closed its doors in 2011.