Father Cornelius "Neil" Horan (born c.1947), otherwise known as the Grand Prix Priest is a defrocked Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who is noted for publicity stunts disrupting sporting events. He disrupted the 2003 British Grand Prix and the 2004 Summer Olympics men's marathon in order to promote his religious view that the end of the World is nigh.

Biography

Early life and the priesthood

The second eldest of 13 children, Horan is a native of Knockeenahone, Scartaglin, but lives in South London. Horan studied to be a priest at St Brendan’s College, Killarney and St Peter’s College in Wexford, 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, and published an electronic book entitled A Glorious New World Very Soon to Come, that predicted that the end of the World was nigh, 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 will rule the world from Jerusalem and there will be two classes of people, immortal saints, who will rule a world government for a millenium 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. He was later sacked for using his sermons to "advance his sensationalist views". He would later describe himself as a "Roman Catholic priest on sabbatical".

2003 British Grand Prix

Horan runs onto the track at the British Grand Prix. Reuters image On 20 July 2003, Horan ran across the track at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, wearing a kilt and waiving a religious banner. His protest took place on the the 200mph Hangar Straight. Several of the drivers had to swerve to avoid him and the safety car had to be deployed to protect competitors. Horan was tackled by a race marshal, and arrested. He was charged with and pleaded guilty to aggrevated trespass and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.

2004 Summer Olympics men's marathon

Horan (on right) pushes Vanderlei de Lima into the crowd. Reuters image.

On August 29, 2004, Horan, who had reportedly been drinking, ran onto the course of the marathon near the 35 km mark, pushing Vanderlei de Lima from Brazil, the race leader, into the crowds alongside the course. He held a placard saying:

The Grand Prix priest. Israel fulfillment of prophecy says the Bible, the second coming is near.

Horan was hauled off the shaken runner by spectators and was promptly arrested by Greek police. Although security for the Olympics was tight because of a feared terrorist attack, protecting the 26 mile long marathon course was more difficult, though the Greek police were criticised for not taking closer order with the runners. De Lima finished third, although how Horan's actions affected him are unclear as he lost 10-15 seconds from his 48 second lead, and was passed by an Italian and an American runner at the 38 km mark. De Lima was also seen with a possible leg injury following the encounter with Horan, yet he continued the race.

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 at the closing ceremony as a result of de Lima's "...exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values during this evening's marathon."

The head of the Brazilian Track Federation has launched an appeal based on the controversy surrounding Horan's interference in the marathon. The federation asked that De Lima also be awarded a gold medal, 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 3,000 euros. Although Horan could have been sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment, the judge gave him a suspended sentence on account of his mental state.

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

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

Horan has also previously disrupted the Wimbledon Championships, and cricket and rugby matches.

Sales of Horan's books rose after the incident, particularly to the United States, where ~80% of the sales were. Leslie Broad, of Deunant Books who publishes Horan's work on the Internet, says he is 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.

External links

Horan

• http://www.deunantbooks.com/bookslist/Theology/page1.html
• a short essay explaining his book and booklet (rtf format) (http://www.deunantbooks.com/docs/TheGrandPrixPriestexc152560.rtf)

News

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/3142515.stm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/athletics/3610598.stm