Neil Horan
Encyclopedia
Cornelius "Neil" Horan, sometimes referred to as The Grand Prix Priest or The Dancing Priest (born April 22, 1947), is a laicized Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 clergyman who is noted for his interference with the running of the 2003 British Grand Prix
2003 British Grand Prix
The 2003 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 20 July 2003 at the Silverstone Circuit.It was won by polesitter Rubens Barrichello but is probably most well known for a track invasion by the defrocked priest Neil Horan, who ran along Hangar straight, running opposite to the...

 and the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 men's marathon
Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon
The Men's Marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29, 2004 in the streets of Athens, Greece. The streets were recently painted for the event, which provided an excellent road surface for the athletes. Drawing upon the ancient origins of the race, the marathon began in...

 in order to promote his religious belief that the end of the world is near. He went on to appear on Britain's Got Talent in May 2009. He danced a soft jig on the show and got a standing ovation by the audience, and he was put through to the next round. He did not make the live semi-finals.

Early life and the priesthood

The second of thirteen children, Horan is a native of Knockeenahone, Scartaglen in County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

. He currently lives in South London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Horan studied to be a priest at St Brendan’s College, Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...

 and St Peter’s College
St Peter's College, Wexford
St Peter's College, Wexford is an Irish secondary school and former seminary located in Summerhill, overlooking Wexford town. It is a single sex school for male pupils. Currently its school population is approximately 700. The current principal is Mr. Patrick Quigley and the current vice-principal...

 in Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...

, and was ordained in 1973. In 1974 he showed an interest in the Apostolic Fellowship of Christ and resigned from the priesthood, but later rejoined in 1980.

Horan became more interested in prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...

, and published an electronic book entitled A Glorious New World Very Soon to Come, that predicted the end of the world, and an electronic booklet along similar lines entitled A Glorious New World. Other works include Christ Will Soon Take Power From All Governments. According to Horan, in the Second Coming of Christ, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 will rule the world from Jerusalem and there will be two class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...

es of people, immortal saints, who will rule a world government
World government
World government is the notion of a single common political authority for all of humanity. Its modern conception is rooted in European history, particularly in the philosophy of ancient Greece, in the political formation of the Roman Empire, and in the subsequent struggle between secular authority,...

 for a millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....

 from the religious city, and mortal citizens who will become "adopted Jews" and live for 900 years.

He was ordered by his superiors in the Church to have psychiatric treatment, in Killarney and in Harley Street
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...

. He was later sacked for using his sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...

s to "advance his sensationalist views"; he would later describe himself as a "Roman Catholic priest on sabbatical".

2003 British Grand Prix

On 20 July 2003, Horan ran across the track at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

, wearing a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...

 and waving a religious banner, which stated "Read the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

. The Bible is always right". His protest took place on the 200 mph Hangar Straight. Several of the drivers had to swerve to avoid him and the safety car
Safety car
In motorsport, a safety car or pace car is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track. During a caution period the safety car enters the track ahead of the leader...

 had to be deployed to protect him and the competitors. Horan was tackled by a race marshal, and arrested. He was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, aggravated trespass and sentenced to two months imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....

.

2004 Epsom Derby

At the June 5, 2004 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

, Horan was spotted by police and tackled moments before they believed he was about to run in front of the horses. He was later released without charges, although police did circulate information about Horan to other sporting events.

2004 Summer Olympics men's marathon

In spite of the fact that security for the 2004 Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 was tight due to fears of a terrorist attack, on August 29 Horan (who had flown to Athens earlier that day) was able to run onto the course of the men's marathon event
Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon
The Men's Marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29, 2004 in the streets of Athens, Greece. The streets were recently painted for the event, which provided an excellent road surface for the athletes. Drawing upon the ancient origins of the race, the marathon began in...

 near the 35 km mark, carrying a placard which said:
The Grand Prix priest. Israel fulfillment of prophecy says the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, the second coming is near.


He pushed Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima
Vanderlei de Lima
Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima is a former long-distance runner who specialised in marathons. He received international renown after a spectator, a laicized Irish priest, attacked him at the 2004 Summer Olympics marathon while he was leading the race at 35 km...

, who was leading the race, into the crowds alongside the course. After a few seconds Horan was hauled off the shaken runner by Greek spectator Polyvios Kossivas. Kossivas subdued Horan and helped de Lima up and back to the lane. Horan was promptly arrested by Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 police (who, in spite of the difficulties of securing the marathon course, were later criticized for not giving runners adequate protection). Following the encounter with Horan, De Lima suffered from leg cramps and muscle pain, although he continued running and completed the race. He lost 20 seconds from his 48 second lead and finished third, after being passed by Italian Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini is a retired Italian athlete and the 2004 Olympic and former European champion in the marathon....

 and American Mebrahtom Keflezighi
Mebrahtom Keflezighi
Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi is an American athlete, specializing in long distance running. He and his family were refugees from Eritrea via Italy to the United States, when he was age 12...

 at the 38 km mark, however, it remains unclear to what extent this is attributable to the incident between de Lima and Horan.

De Lima later commented:

"It was crazy on the course, it was bad. For me it's very, very bad."

"I was scared, because I didn't know what could happen to me, whether he was armed with a knife, a revolver or something and whether he was going to kill me ... That's what cost me the gold medal."


De Lima was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal
Pierre de Coubertin medal
The Pierre de Coubertin medal is a special medal given by the International Olympic Committee to those athletes who demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events.The medal was inaugurated in 1964 and named in honour of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic...

 at the closing ceremony for his "...exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values during this evening's marathon."

The head of the Brazilian Track Federation launched an appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....

 based on the controversy surrounding Horan's interference in the marathon. The federation asked that de Lima also be awarded a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

, citing precedents set in past Olympic matches where extenuating circumstances have led to more than one winner in certain sports. This request was denied.

Horan was given a 12 months' suspended sentence by a Greek court and fined
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

3,000. Although he could have been sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment, the judge gave him a suspended sentence on account of his mental state. Horan also apologised.

Horan's brother Dan Horan later apologised for his brother's actions, and argued that he should have been jailed, saying

"The family are totally shocked and appalled by what he is doing."


Sales of Horan's books rose after the incident, particularly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, a country which made up ~80% of the sales. Leslie Broad of Deunant Books, which publishes Horan's work on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

, said he was shocked by Horan's behaviour, calling him "a damned fool", and has vowed to try to ensure that profits go to charity. , Deunant Books are taking legal advice on whether they can end their contract with Horan.

On January 20, 2005, Horan was formally defrocked by the Catholic Church. He was informed of the ruling at a meeting with the Archbishop of Southwark
Archbishop of Southwark
The Archbishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark in England. As such he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Southwark....

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Horan was quoted as saying,
"I completely reject this decision ... I appeal to the much higher court of Heaven and the court of Jesus Christ."

Cleared of Child abuse allegations

On 2 September 2004, Horan appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on two counts of indecent assault
Indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in many jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime.Indecent assault was an offence in England and Wales under sections 14 and 15 the Sexual Offences Act 1956...

, alleged to have taken place during the early 1990s. He stood trial on 25 October 2004 to 28 October. The prosecution alleged that Horan had, between 1990 and 1992, indecently assaulted a 7-year old girl. The jury took less than an hour to acquit Horan of the charges. Horan went on to attempt to perform a traditional Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 jig
Jig
The Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the 16th century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...

 outside the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...

 wearing his costume.

World Cup 2006

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 in Germany, Horan was arrested by German police before he could stage a planned protest. He had written to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

, and The Kingdom newspaper in County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

, Ireland, informing them that he planned to dance a peace jig outside the stadium in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 before the World Cup final. He told The Kingdom that he would carry posters declaring that "Adolf Hitler was a good leader who was following the word of Christ", give the Hitler salute, and light a candle for Hitler at the Gestapo Headquarters. He spent two months in custody awaiting trial but was released on September 15, 2006, when the judge discharged the case.

Legal restraints

On 13 April 2007 Horan was served with an Anti-Social Behaviour Order
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
An Anti-Social Behaviour Order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders, introduced in the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, were designed to correct minor incidents that...

 (ASBO) banning him from entering, on the day of the race, any of the London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...

s that the course of the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

 passed through.

Britain's Got Talent

Horan auditioned for series 3
Britain's Got Talent (series 3)
The 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent was the third series of the programme. It began airing on ITV on 11 April. The 2009 panel of judges consisted of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan...

 of Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...

in 2009 (airing May 16) performing an Irish jig in traditional costume. The judges put Horan through to the next round. It was revealed he was let through because the producers "did not know" who he was. The makers of the show, TalkbackThames
TalkbackTHAMES
Talkback Thames is a British television production company, a division of FremantleMedia . It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Television, the former ITV network franchisee for London on weekdays between 1968 and 1992...

 and Syco
Syco
Syco Entertainment, often known as simply Syco , is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and exploitation of music, television, film and digital content...

, defended showing Horan's audition on the show. Horan then appeared on the Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM and revealed that he did not get through to the next stage.

Queen's visit to Ireland

During Queen Elizabeth II's 2011 visit to Ireland, he danced on Grafton Street with a placard reading "Is the Queen the daughter of Tyre
Tyre
Tyre is a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon. There were approximately 117,000 inhabitants in 2003, however, the government of Lebanon has released only rough estimates of population numbers since 1932, so an accurate statistical accounting is not possible...

 mentioned in the Bible?"

David Norris letter

During campaigning ahead of the 2011 Irish presidential election, Senator David Norris's past, like those of the other six candidates, came under scrutiny. The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...

reported that it had seen a letter in which Norris had politely responded to Horan thanking him for his pamphlet on “various Messianic prophecies”. Norris admitted in the letter, “To be honest I haven’t really read it in detail yet”, but said that he would put his “feet up and read it with great interest” when he returned from a trip to Berlin. He added, “I will then pass it on to my aunt who is just 100 and has always taken a keen interest in this kind of material”.

External links

  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/3142515.stm
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/athletics/3610598.stm
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4193285.stm
  • http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/church
  • http://www.the-kingdom.ie/news/story.asp?j=21084
  • http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/07/13/story267640.html
  • http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/07/21/story268754.html
  • http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200southlondonheadlines/tm_objectid=17747938&method=full&siteid=50100&headline=ex-priest-jailed-for-nazi-banners-plot-name_page.html
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