Since the tickets to the events are free of charge, many people have booked multiple tickets without intending to attend.

The Knock Shrine event sold out within a few hours, and over half of the tickets have been sold for the Phoenix Park ceremony.

The ‘Say Nope To The Pope’ event on Facebook already has over one hundred posts, many of which claim to have bought dozens of tickets to the papal visit. The page is not without its critics, with one user writing: “This page is a disgrace.” However, the majority of the posts seem in favour of the operation, with another post reading: “Got my 12 for the bin” and the page itself garnering over 1000 ‘attendees.’

There is a limit of twelve tickets per booking for the Phoenix Park event and eight tickets per booking for Knock Shrine, with much larger limits for coach bookings. One Facebook user writes: “Do the parish/coach option!! 600 at a time.”

The Pope’s highly publicised visit takes place in August, and there are three events taking place. First, there is the Croke Park event on August 25th. The next day, the Pope will attend the Angelus at the Knock Shrine followed by a Mass in Phoenix Park. The Phoenix Park Mass will accommodate over 500,000, while the Knock Shrine can hold 45,000 people.