Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village – Film Review
Director: Aoife Kelleher
Release Date: Out Now
If Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village did anything for me, it reminded me of my youth. A youth spent growing up in a small Irish village not unlike the one portrayed here. Sure, my village wasn’t quite like Knock, but there aren’t many villages that are.
You can’t go to any village in Ireland and expect it to have an airport, to have been visited by the Pope or be visited annually by over a million people.
But the one thing my village does share with Knock are the characters. The local people of these villages are always around to share a story or two. These are the common people of Ireland, but they hold significant value in smaller areas.
For me, this documentary was all about the local characters, the old and young, the tourists and the history they have with Knock and that Knock has with them.
If you’re unfamiliar about Knock, or why it’s such a significant little Irish village, then this documentary makes for a good starting point. Aoife Kelleher, whose previous work was the well-received One Million Dubliners, is back with another great story taken straight out of Irish history.
This time she focuses on the residents of Knock and their ancestors who, in 1879, claimed to have seen apparitions of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, John the evangelist and a Lamb which represented Jesus Christ.
Whether you believe in such stories or not is up to you, but it is important to remember that, at this time, Ireland was just coming out of the Famine. It was bleak time for many and people needed something to believe in. The factual evidence behind the apparition isn’t important; it is the strength of the witnesses’ belief that stands out.
With many locations still dealing with the tail-end of the Famine, those that couldn’t emigrate needed an olive branch to grasp. They needed something better to believe in and so, this couldn’t have happened at a better time.
As I said, for me, this film is all about the characters and most notable of them is the friendly priest, Father Richard Gibbons. At a time when priests aren’t so well loved, Father Gibbons comes across as an exception. This is a man who is tasked with a heavy burden.
Aside from dealing with his local parishioners every week, he also needs to handle the million-plus pilgrims that visit Knock for the annual ceremony at one of Europe’s major Catholic Marian Shrines.
As expected, he is shown dealing with this task quite pleasantly. Viewed as a rather welcoming figure, there is a lot of footage of him in the village, talking with the locals and enjoying the parish activities immensely. There is also a lot of focus on his fundraising campaigns to refurbish the Knock Basilica, which holds up to 10,000 people.
With Father Richard Gibbons as our anchor, we are also casually introduced to a number of other characters. These include descendants of the original witnesses, quaint shopkeeping rivals and a charmingly misinformed entrapeneur. Everyone has a story to tell about Knock and some have even made a living out of telling their story.
The cardinal from New York is a highlight. A rather surreal and charismatic fellow, he tells his pilgrims that Enda Kenny visiting him would be much like if Barack Obama or even Donald Trump visited him…a mixed message indeed!
Despite a community so heavily steeped in history and religion, Knock is certainly depicted in a progressive manner. There are clear nods of acceptance, if not approval, about gay marriage and challenges to the role of women in tradition religious ceremonies.
My favourite part, however, was a light-hearted section involving a former priest and a woman that have set up a dated dating service, scrolling through boxes of people profiles and setting them up with each other.
The subject matter might be initially off-putting, but it is dealt with comes in a charmingly light hearted way. I came out of this film, wanting to visit Knock.
A great follow up to 1 Million Dubliners, you just have to wonder what Aoife Kelleher is going to document next.
Score: 4/5
Written by Graeme Redmond
