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100% Critic Match
A Wing and a Prayer – The Story of Knock Airport
“We're building an airport!”
10.0 / 10• 1986• 52m•NR• English
DocumentaryHistoryTV Movie
Storyline
Directed by John Blackman, "A Wing and a Prayer – The Story of Knock Airport" follows the efforts to construct an international airport at Knock in County Mayo during the early 1980s. Originating from a 1981 RTÉ News report, the film charts Monsignor James Horan’s campaign to build a full-length runway in a remote, rural location, documenting the political resistance, changing governments, and repeated setbacks that accompanied the project before the airport’s opening in 1986.
Cast & Crew
MJ
Monsignor James Horan
Self - Knock Parish Priest
LeadCH
Charles Haughey
Self - Fianna Fáil (four time) Former Taoiseach
PF
Pádraig Flynn
Self - Fianna Fáil Minister of State Department of Transport, 1980-81
AR
Albert Reynolds
Self - Fianna Fáil Minister for Transport 1979-81
JM
Jim Mitchell
Self - Fine Gael TD Minister for Communications 1984-87
JR
Jim Ryan
Self - Airport Design Consultant
MO
Michael O'Malley
Self - Mayo County Manager
JM
Joe Murphy
Self - Jaycees International, 1981
What People Are Saying
5.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. John Blackman's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
5.0
“Every frame feels alive. A Wing and a Prayer – The Story of Knock Airport is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
