I concur with what has been said about Knock - probably the most soulless place we have ever been in crammed full of commercial tat.
In contrast, the folk-religious sites or those that have fallen into disuse are usually well are well worth a visit,
We've been on several guided trips around The Burren, a dozen or so miles North of here, to visit the Holy Wells and ruined churches - on a good day you wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but to my atheist's view, they are monuments of man's creation - nothing to do with spirits and superstition.
We're lucky enough to be able to visit these places all the year round when the visitors have gone home and the commericalism has been put to bed for the winter.
We've always made a point of visiting religious sites on our numerous trips abroad, from the Egyptian temples built by slave labour to the monasteries of Meteora in Greece built by labourers and monks hauling building material up the hills in baskets - all testimonies to man art and artisan skills.
The fact that they were built to worship something that I believe does not exist is immaterial.
I have to say that we were often struck by the poor taste of the established church - the glut of wealth of the Vatican was like being presented with many dozens of dishes of exquisite food and having to eat it all in one sitting - at first impressive, but totally joyless and, in a way, artless.
Monreale Cathedral in Sicily was probably one of the most exquisitely beautiful large buildings we were ever in, every inch of the walls covered with beautiful images, even the alcoves of the windows - all hideously marred by a giant neon cross stuck right in the centre of the building, which, to me, sums up the poor taste I am referring to.
I often came away from these places with a feeling of an organisation which is more concerned with over-impressing and imposing rather than giving praise to their god.
Still - some of the buildings are certainly well worth a visit - if you forget what they represent.
Jim Carroll