Pope ticket checks abandoned due to two-mile tailbacks

MOMENT IN TIME Gardaí had to let some pilgrims into Knock village without showing their tickets so they could be in the Shrine on time to see the Pope on his trip through the crowd in the Popemobile.  Pic: Maxwells

Anton McNulty

A TAILBACK of over two miles along approach roads to Knock village forced gardaí to abandon plans to only allow vehicles with valid tickets near the village.
The traffic management plan put in place by An Garda SíochΡna for the Papal visit to Knock restricted access to the east Mayo village to residents and ticket holders for the Pope’s visit to the Shrine.
Each vehicle approaching Knock village was stopped to show their ticket, but gardaí had to abandon the operation as it became clear people would not get to the Shrine in time for the Pope’s arrival at 9.45am.
“There were traffic issues on the approach roads to Knock, which resulted in traffic jams on the N17 on the Claremorris side, and these issues were repeated on the Kiltimagh to Knock road and between Ballyhaunis and Claremorris,” a garda spokesperson told The Mayo News.
“There were tailbacks going back two miles where there were checks on all cars to ensure they had tickets for the event. The backlog was such that at 7am we had to stop checking for tickets and wave all traffic through. If we continued to check all cars, people would not have got to Knock in time for the Pope’s arrival.”
There were up to 400 gardaí from across the region drafted into the area to deal with the expected 45,000 people, who were estimated to arrive for the event. The public were advised by Gardaí prior to the event to be in Knock for 7.30am but it became apparent from the early build-up of traffic this was not going to occur.

Poor visibility
The garda spokesperson said a combination of the heavy rain and poor visibility, along with people not giving themselves enough time to get to the event, resulted in the traffic tailbacks. However despite this setback, gardaí said that the vast majority of people were at the Shrine for Pope Francis’ arrival.
Cars were directed to park in designated car-parks located in fields around the village and despite the heavy rain, they were able to cater for the volume of traffic. Gardaí said only a handful needed the assistance of a tractor to pull them out of the field, due to the heavy rainfall.
The garda spokesperson added that parking arrangement for buses along the N17 worked well and there were no issues with traffic delays at the end of the event.
“By and large the feedback from the public was positive and apart from the traffic issues in the early morning there were no major issues. There was no incidents of public order and overall the atmosphere on the day was a joyous and festive one,” the spokesperson concluded.