Visit by Pope John Paul II to Ireland

The pope’s visit to Ireland also took place, exactly over a month since Louis Mountbatten was killed in a boat bomb explosion over the coast of Sligo, planted by the Provisional IRA.

An Aer Lingus Boeing 747, named St Patrick, brought Pope John Paul II from Rome to Dublin Airport.

Returning to Dublin that evening, the Pope was greeted by 750,000 people as he travelled in an open top popemobile through the city centre and visited Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the Irish President.

[rte 4] The journalists from the international media broke into a spontaneous rendition of 'For he's a jolly good fellow' when the Pope arrived.

Pope John Paul began the second day of his tour with a short visit to the ancient monastery at Clonmacnoise in County Offaly.

Pope John Paul left Ireland from nearby Shannon Airport travelling to Boston where he began a six-day tour of the United States.

[2] Pope John Paul delivered 22 homilies and addresses during the course of this visit, including a televised message for the sick broadcast on RTÉ on the evening of his arrival in Ireland.