No locks or toilet roll in 'shantytown' Knock facilities claims Mayo councillor

A Mayo County Councillor has once again broached the thorny subject of the state of the public toilet facilities in Knock ahead of what promises to be another busy season for the Shrine.

The religious site, situated in the East Mayo village, attracts up to one and a half million visitors per year.

The issue reared its head once again at the September monthly meeting of the Swinford-Claremorris Municipal District.

Councillor Richard Finn, who previously likened the facilities to a ‘shantytown’, tackled the subject.

“I want to mention the disgraceful state of the public toilets in Knock,” the local representative stated. “We had a caretaker, who has gone. We got a new caretaker, and it has gotten worse.”

Complaints had already been coming in the Independent representative’s door. However, one phone call from a visitor from outside the county was brought to the floor in Claremorris on Wednesday.

“It went to a new level there about two weeks ago when a bus driver from Donegal rang me up complaining about the condition of the toilets.

“Bus drivers from other counties around are bringing in 50 or 60 people. They’re ringing up as local representatives and saying that these are a disgrace and that it's not easy to defend it.

“Not only that, even the local stallholders and the customers there and everything else there. We need to tackle that issue straight away.”

Cllr Finn also claimed that on occasion there was no toilet paper and door locks for users.

“A few years ago they were complaining about Croagh Patrick. We are very much entitled in Knock to proper toilet facilities for an international shrine, the same as anywhere else in any other part of the county.”

In response to the concerns raised, Head of Finance Peter Duggan moved to allay some of the fears of Councillor Finn.

“We've had a gap in the caretaking facility there, which now has been sorted out.

“There are minor issues that aren't acceptable. They'll be fixed right away. I've seen it myself on a number of occasions. They're worse for wear, to put it this way.

“They need a lot of time, you know. We don't have the resources as it stands. We look forward to your support on that. I know it's not fully within your control on budget time, but any support you could give for the extra funds would be appreciated.”

This isn’t the first time that this issue has been brought up in this forum. In December of last year, Councillor Finn discussed the flow of calls he had been receiving on the matter.

"I don't know how many phone calls I have got over the summer in relation to this," he stated.

The Independent councillor stated that when he queried the closure during the busiest times of the week for the Shrine, he was informed that they were closed due to wet floors.

"This is no answer to me, where a million and a half people are coming into a village, and no public toilet, no places to go, getting off buses.

"I know, and there are photographs there to prove that there was no water on the floors. There has to be something done in relation to the tidying up of the stalls in Knock, which are essentially now becoming a shanty town, where people are leaving them empty.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.