The Miracle of the
Weeping Irish Madonna Poster

The story of this image begins in the Diocese of Clonfert during the invasion of Cromwell. Together with the people, the Bishops of Ireland gathered before this painting in 1650 to solemnly proclaim
Our Lady as Queen and Patroness of Ireland.

When +Walter Lynch, Bishop of Clonfert, was subsequently exiled, he brought the painting with him for safekeeping. He was given refuge in the city of Györ, Hungary where the painting remained after his death. 

The 17th century continued as a time of great suffering for Catholics in Ireland. March 16th, 1697, represents one of the peaks of this persecution when the Act of Banishment was brought forward to Parliament. This act would banish all clergy and religious from Ireland under pain of death, and with them, the celebration of the Mass.

The following day – St Patrick’s Day – a remarkable miracle occurred. The painting of the Irish Madonna, which now hung in the Cathedral of Györ, began to weep blood.

The painting was removed from its frame, inspected, and dried, yet it continued to weep from the eyes and face of Our Lady. The miracle lasted three hours and was attested to by hundreds of people including the Captain General of the City, the Bishop, and even by Lutheran and Calvinist Ministers and a Jewish Rabbi. 

The Hungarians who witnessed the miracle recognised it as a sign that Blessed Mother was suffering with her people in Ireland. A great devotion to the Irish Madonna of Györ, the Consoler of the Afflicted, continues in Hungary to this day. 

When Our Lady miraculously appeared during the Eucharistic apparition in Knock 140 years later, she came crowned as Queen of Ireland and once again affirmed the centrality of the Mass. 

Our Lady, Queen of Ireland, pray for us.