A Wing and a Prayer – The Story of Knock Airport
“We're building an airport!”
1986•52m•10.0•Released
DocumentaryHistoryTV Movie
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.
Director
John Blackman
Writer
Jim Fahy
Languages
English
Studio
RTÉ
Cast
Monsignor James Horan
Self - Knock Parish Priest
Charles Haughey
Self - Fianna Fáil (four time) Former Taoiseach
Pádraig Flynn
Self - Fianna Fáil Minister of State Department of Transport, 1980-81
Albert Reynolds
Self - Fianna Fáil Minister for Transport 1979-81
Jim Mitchell
Self - Fine Gael TD Minister for Communications 1984-87
Jim Ryan
Self - Airport Design Consultant
Michael O'Malley
Self - Mayo County Manager
Joe Murphy
Self - Jaycees International, 1981
Paddy O'Toole
Self - Fine Gael TD, Mayo East 1977-87
Barry Desmond
Self - Labour TD, Minister of State Department of Finance 1981-82
Frank McCullogh
Self - Airport Action Committee
Morley Safer
Self - CBS '60 Minutes' Reporter
Mary Donoghue
Self - Airport Fundraising Volunteer
Maurice Buckby
Self - Airport Director, British Airports International
Danny Higgins
Self - Managing Director, Celtic Air
Production
Company
RTÉ
Producer
John Blackman
Recommended
7.2
Seven Up!
1964
7.8
The Godfather Family: A Look Inside
1990
6.7
Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron
2017
7.8
Interstellar: Nolan's Odyssey
2014
7.1
4 Little Girls
1997
7.8
Adele One Night Only
2021
7.3
Andre the Giant
2018
7.1
David Bowie: The Last Five Years
2017
7.9
Alone in the Wilderness
2004
7.1
Behind the Planet of the Apes
1998
6.8
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
7.5
David Bowie: Five Years
2013
7.5
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
1998
7
Ronaldo
2015
6.8
How to Survive a Plague
2012
7
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
2004
7.4
We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company
2001
6.4
Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars
2012
8.2
The Untold History Of The United States
2012
7.4
Another Day of Life
2018
Similar Movies
10
Inconfiscable
2025
7.2
Jasper Mall
2020
3.7
Warrior Queen
1987
The Man Who Surfed The World
2021
7.5
Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord
2021
6.5
Border
1997
8.5
The ENTIRE History of The British Empire | 4K Documentary
2024
3.7
Trailer Camp
1995
JVLIVS : Prequel – Giulio
2024
7
Tommaso Ciampa: blackHEART
2019
Window
2021
10
The Merry Companions
2007
Tink
0
untitled minneapolis project
2025
Wings Over Water
1986
10
Al-Awja 17:47
2025
High Tech Airport
2017
7.1
Ryan's Daughter
1970
10
Man of Arran
2023
8
Free Burma Rangers
2020