Description

While Knock is famous worldwide as a place of peaceful religious pilgrimage, the village was at the absolute epicenter of intense agrarian warfare during the late 19th century. In Rural Tensions in Nineteenth-Century Knock, County Mayo, preeminent scholar Nollaig Ó Muraíle delivers a profound, gripping micro-history of the socio-political storm that consumed the parish in the decade surrounding the famous 1879 apparition.

Drawing heavily from local archives, police reports, and land agent files, Ó Muraíle peels back the layers of history to expose a landscape defined by brutal evictions, rack-renting landlords, and secret agrarian societies. The book shows how local tenant farmers actively organized resistance, aligning themselves with the newly forming Land League movement in Mayo. This essential text provides crucial, deeply fascinating context, proving that the spiritual events at Knock occurred within a community experiencing profound economic distress and radical political awakening.

Why this is an invaluable historical resource:

• Unrivaled Local Research: Features precise names, dates, and townland records unique to East Mayo.

• Critical Context: Offers a fresh, vital perspective on the environmental factors surrounding the Knock Apparition.

• Scholarly Excellence: Written by an elite academic, ensuring the highest standards of historical accuracy and depth.