And which was the backdrop for every car journey I took with my Donegal mammy from Glasgow back to God’s Own County.
It worked too as we surely had divine intervention to keep us safe with my Mum’s driving.
And how distracted she was as she passed by every town and pointed them out to me.
Knock on Heaven’s Door
All of which rubbing away at rosary beads and penitent pilgrims will be in rich supply.
On the back of Aer Lingus‘s new route from London Heathrow to Knock-Irl West.
Back in the day you could only get to Knock in Co. Mayo in the East of Ireland by road.
Unless, of course, you were Our Lady, Saint Joseph, Saint John the Evangelist, angels and Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God.
Who, of course, had their own transport at hand.
Spending my summer holidays as I did with my Dublin cousins out in Galway
Days were also set aside to visit Knock which set me off on a lifelong interest in pilgrim sites.
Now as much as Ireland changed with the Celtic Tiger the ‘saints’ part of the moniker The Land of Saints and Scholars is still upheld.
Flights of angels
Not least at Aer Lingus who give every plane a saint’s name and christen it before it takes flight.
All of which will ensure you double protection.
The inaugural Aer Lingus flight EI916, operated by an Airbus A320, departed from Ireland West Airport at Knock for Heathrow at 1.05pm yesterday afternoon.
Welcoming the new route, Judith Cassidy of Tourism Ireland said: “This means that GB visitors can travel directly from London to Ireland’s dramatic Wild Atlantic Way coastline in less than two hours.
“Here they can experience and enjoy the rugged beauty of the west coast of Ireland.
“As seen in the Oscar nominated Banshees of Inisherin.”
And it’ll be well worth the €253.03 sample return fare we found on the website.
Particularly when you factor in the priceless blessings you’ll garner at Knock…
When you’ve already visited 120 countries (there are 195) then it’s difficult to choose your best… but here to mark her 70th anniversary of her coronation today, are the Queen’s platinum destinations.
That leaves just 75 countries for Queenie to visit too (and she won’t let her 95 years put her off).
Among them Greece, where Philip had some unresolved issues, Madagascar, Cuba, Israel and Peru.
And that leaves the rest of us in the ha’penny place (her head was on that too) when it comes to the Queen’s platinum destinations.
And as the gratitudes are handed out over the course of the year, what most people will be glad of, is the four bank holidays Britons are getting this year.
As promised more Black Friday offers (and like all the best Fridays they stretch into the weekend).
It’s always nice to share your favourite hotels with your friends.
Dublin’s delights
And I’m glad to have passed on the charms of my favourite Dublin hotel, the iconic InterContinental in Ballsbridge, with my old pal and multi-award winning Travel writer Yvonne Gordon.
You’ll save 25% off their best flexible rate and enjoy:
A spacious deluxe guest room or a choice of luxurious suites with many with balconies.
And a special recommendation here from my own mermaid who rave about their 14m heated indoor pool and relaxation area.
And their 10% off ESPA products.
There’s limited time to book through Friday, December 3.
And the offers are for stays between Monday, November 29 this year and September 4 next year. And book three days before arrival.
Lusty helpings
And you’ll have lusty helpings all right with the famous hospitality in Northern Ireland.
The deliciously named Lusty Beg Island Resort in Fermanagh is giving you 40% off a B&B courtyard stay for two for £105 per night.
Or book two nights B&B courtyard for two for £265 and receive. £70 voucher to use during your stay.
The offer is open from January 1 to March 31 and is open through tomorrow.
Donegal Mammy
And, yes, no dip into Ireland can be complete without a namecheck for its northernmost county… my Donegal Mammy would never forgive me.
The scenic Harvey’s Point, set in the idyllic surroundings of Lough Eske and with the Bluestack Mountains as a backdrop, is just where you want to be at this time of year.
Or any time, to be fair.
Now if you book your gift voucher online before midnight on Monday you will get a 10% discount.
That’s towards the stay offers or can be used to enjoy an Afternoon Tea or a meal in the Lakeside Restaurant or Harvey’s Bar and Terrace.
So, even though it’s Saturday, I make no apologies for giving you Craic Friday.
The 12th of July means something in Northern Ireland and its hinterland so today it’s Rainy Days and Songdays Song for Ulster.
No, not the songs you would hear on the marches and matches but the best of Ulster from the charts.
Alternative
Stiff Little Fingers (Alternative Ulster): And first up is the pride of Ulster punk.
Belfast boys SLF used the backdrop of The Troubles for material and recorded the first single Suspect Device disguised as a suspect bomb.
The producer thought it was real and contacted the band for a real one. Instead we give you the brilliant Alternative Ulster.
Get your kicks
The Undertones (Teenage Kicks): It is the stuff of punk legend that SLF and Derry’s finest The Undertones did not get on.
The Undertones accused SLF of sensationalising The Troubles and the violence.
Teenage Kicks famously initially had the line: ‘I wanna hold it, hold it tight’.
An Ode to Derry
Phil Coulter (The Town I Loved SoWell): When a composer speaks with honesty and experience about his world (Derry)then the results are memorable.
Phil, of course, had musical pedigree before this, his signature song, having written Eurovision classics Congratulations and Puppet On A String.
Comedy classic
The Divine Comedy (National Express): And you’ve got to love a band with a lyric: ‘And it’s hard to get by/when your arse is the size of a small country.
Derry’s Neil Harmon also penned an album The Duckworth Lewis Method. Geinius.
Van the Belfast Man
Van Morrison (Madame George): The poet laureate of Belfast, Van may be a grumpy old sod but he’s never forgotten his roots.
You can still see him at one of his legendary cabarets at the Europa Hotel although, alas, characters like Madame George are long gone,
And a special mention too to the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland…
It’s one of those annoying Government buzzwords so let’s claim it back with a Rainy Days and Songdays Green Lighting megamix around the world. Our favourite songs with ‘green’ in the title and the countries where they transport us.
As a recruiting call for Ireland our pals at Tourism Ireland would have been proud as in true singer style Johnny namechecks everywhere on the Emerald Island.
Quite who the girl from Tipperary town with the lips like eiderdown is Johnny would never say, perhaps because June would have killed him.
The old rogue Burns was pure rock’n’roll and could pen a lyric and a tune which is probably why he is held in such high regard by the greatest singer-songwriters of the latter half of the 20th century.
With Bob Dylan, no less, crediting the Scot as his greatest inspiration.
The Milanese Verdi had the support of Gaetano Donizetti from nearby Bergamo whom he visited in Vienna which, of course, was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
And that included Bohemia, or the current-day Czech Republic where the thing to do when you’re in Prague is take in a production at the opera house.
Every nation sacrificed its most promising generation in No Man’s Land but for those from the furthest outposts of Empire… well, it just seems to be all the more pointless to modern sensibilities.
Eric Bogle, a Scots-born Australian, explores the pyschological cost to one survivor ‘young Willie McBride’. And it was all the more poignant after I’d seen the statue of the Scots soldier in northern France.
The story goes that the Stax house band were waiting around for the Sun artist and rockabilly singer Billy Lee Riley to turn up and developed the song.
And why Green Onions? Well Booker T. Jones self-deprecatingly said it was because green onions were the nastiest thing he could think of and something you could throw away. We never would.
Either way it’s flag-waving, Americana. And even if you don’t know the song you’ll recognise the tune.
Particularly if you’re a fan of Celtic FC who famously play in green and white hoops and who have adapted the song and lyrics into a favourite fans’ song With a Four-leaf Clover on My Breast.
The evergreen Cliff belts this one out from the Seventies.
The Peter Pan of Pop who was born in India, grew up in England, and has had homes in Portugal and Barbados, though he is selling up in Bim (and yes I’m interested).