Pilgrims told ‘plan for a tough day with long walks’
■ Cost of 36-hour visit to reach €20m amid very tight security
ORGANISERS of the Pope’s visit are warning people to start planning for “an extremely long day”.
Patrons hoping to get a glimpse of the pontiff will face lengthy walks and security checks at both the Knock shrine and Phoenix Park.
The total cost of the 36-hour visit is expected to reach €20m, with the State picking up the tab for security.
It will be impossible to attend both events as Pope Francis will fly from Mayo to Dublin after visiting the shrine.
It is believed that people attending the event in Knock will be arriving in the very early hours of the morning.
Pope Francis is due to pray the Angelus on the square in front of the shrine at 9.45am.
By then 45,000 people will have passed through ticket and security checks in what will be a massive logistical operation.
An advisory notice issued by the Government yesterday said people should plan your day “from when you leave your house to when you return”.
“Long periods of walking and standing are unavoidable at both events,” the note said.
There will be a range of supports – rest zones, welfare areas, medical facilities, and a team of volunteers – that will be there to help those making the journey.
A spokesperson for the World Meetings of Families told the Irish Independent: “Plan for a big journey. Hopefully, the anticipation of what is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will keep people energised as they make their way to the site.”
Business in parts of Dublin can expect significant disruption over the period.
It is expected there will be some road closures, particularly around the Phoenix Park and Croke Park.
At one point, the pontiff will travel through the city in an open-top vehicle, leading to road closures.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said yesterday that when Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979 there were “two words that weren’t used: health and safety”.
“We have a very different regime – rightly so,” he said.
The archbishop said that many people will want to bring their children “so you have to look at the question of safety, accessibility, and the estimate is that in the Phoenix Park the figure of about 600,000 would be looked on today as being safe for that particular event.
“It is not just the place, it is the access, getting in and getting out.”
Dr Martin said there would be opportunities for people who would like to see the Pope without going to Mass.
“There are moments in which, particularly in his time in Dublin, he will go through the city. On some occasions in a Popemobile and other occasions in a covered car.”
He said he would like the Pope to see “not just the attractions of Dublin but the places where people live, the challenge of being family in Irish society and their many difficulties”.
According to the archbishop, it is the Pope’s wish that the visit does not bring “extreme expense and the venues should be sober and fitting in reflecting that”.
“The Government has been extremely helpful in looking at this,” he said.
He said An Garda Síochána and the OPW will be in charge of not just the Pope’s security, but also the security for the hundreds of thousands who will turn out to see him.