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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Aakanksha Surve

Viewers react to RTE documentary on 1985 moving statues hysteria

Viewers were left shocked after watching RTE’s moving statues documentary which explored the hysteria that gripped the country in the mid-80s.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at grottos from Ballinspittle to Stradbally to witness moving statues.

The phenomenon which took over the country for a few months had people claim to have seen the statues physically move in front of their eyes.

Amused viewers took to social media with many of them finding humour in the events shows on Moving Statues- The Summer Of 1985.

John Miller from Monastervin in the documentary (RTE)
Patricia McGuinness, Mary McGuinnes, and Colleen McGuinnes on the RTE documentary (RTE)

Irish people still claim sightings of Virgin Mary in sky in 1985 were legitimate 

One person said: “Watching this #MovingStatues programme and am beyond mortified on behalf of all of us. Christ Ireland in the 80s was like a different planet.”

Another person said: “Because the Blessed Virgin always would wait until just after bingo to put on her Vogue. #MovingStatues”

A third person said: “Trying to explain a 1985 Ireland to the Aussie hubby. Actually crying laughing #movingstatues #RTE1 And we blame social media for fake news!”

 

Another person said: “A man in the pub told me that they used to leave the lights on in the chapels all over Ireland in ‘85 as the statues were bumping into each other  #movingstatues”

But there were others who spoke about experiencing the event.

One person said: “The mammy was out shopping, one day during the moving statue epidemic. Passing a church,  a woman she knew came rushing out, all a twitter.

“She called to the mammy. "Lily. Lily, the statue of St Anthony is moving!" "RUN" shouts the mammy, "He's after your purse" #movingstatues”

Another said: “#MovingStatues  after my inter I went to Ballinaspittle mainly to mock my mother.

“(There were daily buses from O'Connell Street)  she saw nothing and I saw the statue move and change to St Theresa of the little Flower!”

A third person said: “I was working in Coolock Library during the hysteria that gripped the nation in the 1980s.

“One day a dazzled old man came in to ask for directions. He had traveled from Cavan because he had heard about Jesus appearing in a knot of wood in a wardrobe in Darndale. #MovingStatues”

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