After promising her followers visions and miracles, it looks like the Virgin Mary played a cruel trick on the gullible faithful. A local eye surgeon has reported a significant increase in solar retinopathy cases this year. The most likely cause – starring at the sun.

“If you stare at the sun for long enough you’re going to get some visual disturbances”

Perhaps the afflicted could ask visionary, and ambassador to the virgin, Joe Coleman, for another set of eye repairing miracles? Failing that they might want to approach a solicitor and start issuing writs?

Seriously though, when you read the account from October’s Irish Times of what was going on you have to be flabbergasted at how these people have both deceived themselves, and worked themselves into such a frenzy over this (best quote from the faithful followers of our lady “She’s outside. F*** ya! We shudda stayed outside!”).

It is all very embarrassing to have to explain to non-Irish people that this sort of thing is not typical in our country. And we are not a superstitious, priest ridden society any more. At least I hope we aren’t.