Yesterday was the anniversary of the first reported “moving statue” in Ireland. This occurred in Asdee, Co. Kerry in 1985 and so began a summer of vibrating Marys up and down the country.
The Irish Examiner chose to mark the occasion with a piece by journalist Conor Keane who described his involvement in reporting on the phenomenon at the time as well as his recent visit to the village.
While he describes his initial reaction as sceptical and explains that the locals are reluctant to discuss the moving statues themselves, he doesn’t take the opportunity to explain to the reader the most probable reason for the mass visions. i.e. eidetic imagery. He didn’t explain that most of the visions of movement came at twilight, after the viewer had been staring at the same spot for a long period. He didn’t explain that this was all an optical illusion.
In a time when thousands gather at Knock, and stare at the sun looking for predicted magic phenomena, permanently damaging their retina in the process, wouldn’t it be more journalistically valid to explain to the readership what actually happened in 1985 ( i.e. the facts), rather than wallow in some nostalgia for a simpler time?
Zero Albedo
16 Feb 2010
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