School children star stuck by Pope’s presence

THE CHOSEN ONES Pupils from Cloonlyon National School in Charlestown pictured in celebratory mood while awaiting the arrival of Pope Francis to Knock Airport. Pic: Maxwells

Anton McNulty and Ciara Galvin

“It was unreal,” was David Taylor’s reaction. “Oh my God, is this really happening?” was what Tara Brennan was thinking, while Sarah Hunt said it was ‘an amazing experience’.
The reaction of the young school children to meeting Pope Francis was such that you would be forgiven for thinking they were after meeting Lionel Messi and not his 81-year-old Argentinean compatriot.
One hundred school children from four national schools close to Knock Airport – St Attracta’s NS, Charlestown; Cloonlyon NS; Tavneena NS and Barnacogue NS – were lucky enough to be invited to Knock Airport to welcome Pope Francis to Mayo.

Special blessing
When the plane arrived, they excitedly cheered and waved their little Papal flags. Their youthful exuberance added to the excitement of the occasion.
With the Pope running late, it was expected that he would go straight into his Skoda after meeting the dignitaries. However, much to the delight of the school children (and their teachers), he swiftly made a beeline to the cheering children and shook hands or patted every one of them.
One boy who got a very special blessing was Iarlaith Farrell from St Attracta’s NS. Iarlaith, who has cerebral palsy, was with his grandmother, Liz. The pontiff stopped in his tracks and made his way to Iarlaith, held his head in his hands and kissed it.
“It was so special, I can’t stop thinking about it,” Iarlaith’s mother, Catherine, told The Mayo News. “We just wanted him to get his blessing. We didn’t know if he [Pope Francis] would even see him, but it worked out so well.”
Catherine said that her mother-in-law, ‘a devout Catholic’, is still in shock.
“We’ve watched it back, and we’re quite amazed; it’s been on CNN, Sky News … the world is a little touched by it. We rely on modern medicine and see that it’s not working as well as it should, so we can always hope for a miracle. Iarlaith was very relaxed on Sunday evening after the day,” said Catherine.

‘A brilliant experience’
Pat Collins, the Principal of Cloonlyon NS is due to retire after 39 years teaching in the school, and for him, meeting Pope Francis was the perfect retirement present.
“It was absolutely fantastic, particularly for the children that are here today. I’m more happy for the children than I am for myself. What stands out is the humanity of the man. He came over to the children when he could easily have got into the car and driven away.”
One of the children he spoke to was eleven-year-old Shane O’Toole from Cloonlyon NS. “It was a brilliant experience, and I don’t think I will do anything like this again. He asked me my name. I was quite shocked that he picked me out individually,” he said.
Mia Durkin, a sixth-class pupil from St Attracta’s NS was equally impressed. “I didn’t think he would come over and shake our hands. It was kind of like a dream,” she said.
David Taylor from Barnacogue NS said he did not think the Pope would come his way but was delighted when he did. “He shook my hand and asked me my name. I welcomed him to Ireland. It was unreal.”