The New York Times, 11 March 2001 - Mass Honors 10 in I.R.A. Who Starved
''For the soul of Bobby Sands, let us pray,'' said Gerry Coleman, the political education director of Irish Northern Aid Committee.
''Lord, hear our prayer,'' came the response from the 1,000 or so people gathered in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
''For the soul of Francis Hughes, let us pray,'' Mr. Coleman continued.
''Lord, hear our prayer,'' came the response.
And so it went yesterday, 10 names in all, the 10 Irish Republican Army members who died 20 years ago in a hunger strike at a prison in Northern Ireland, recalled in a somber service as heroes and martyrs for Ireland.
The memorial Mass, officiated by Msgr. Eugene V. Clark, was the biggest in a decade to honor the hunger strikers and was timed to follow a similar remembrance held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the organizers said.
The widow of Mr. Sands, the first of the 10 to starve in a protest over the imprisonment of I.R.A. members by the British authorities, appeared in black. She said nothing during the Mass -- the prayers were led by Mr. Coleman and the monsignor -- but outside the cathedral she expressed gratitude for the turnout, which was said to be among the largest since memorial Masses for the hunger strikers were first held in the early 1980's. The annual service was last performed at St. Patrick's in 1991, according to organizers.
The widow, Geraldine Sands, said the crowded pews gave her renewed hope that her husband's death still held meaning for the Irish people.
''I worry about people forgetting,'' said Mrs. Sands, who rarely speaks publicly. ''It was a big sacrifice we all gave. It should never be forgotten.''
Mrs. Sands said she did not want to comment on the current political situation in Northern Ireland, but she said the strike in 1981 was an unusual event that brought together many disparate people in Ireland and around the world. That unity was reflected in the cross section of Irish Americans and others in attendance yesterday, most of whom put their differences aside for the day.
As an example, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Catholic group that runs the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Manhattan, shared communion with members of the Lavender and Green Alliance, a gay and lesbian organization that has been critical of the parade's exclusion of openly homosexual groups.
''I wouldn't like to think they died for nothing,'' Mrs. Sands said of her husband and the other hunger strikers. ''Of course, it was worth it.''
During his sermon, Monsignor Clark spoke of the 10 as martyrs in the tradition of St. Ambrose and St. Thomas More. He said their deaths should serve as an inspiration of self-sacrifice. ''It is a very important thing that you keep this all alive in your minds and pass it on to other people,'' he said in closing.
Larry Downes, president of the Friends of Sinn Fein Organization, said the hunger strike in 1981 changed Irish history by giving inspiration to the Republican political movement and educating people around the world about the Republican cause. ''It was the springboard for the current peace process,'' Mr. Downes said.
- Dean E. Murphy
Source
''For the soul of Bobby Sands, let us pray,'' said Gerry Coleman, the political education director of Irish Northern Aid Committee.
''Lord, hear our prayer,'' came the response from the 1,000 or so people gathered in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
''For the soul of Francis Hughes, let us pray,'' Mr. Coleman continued.
''Lord, hear our prayer,'' came the response.
And so it went yesterday, 10 names in all, the 10 Irish Republican Army members who died 20 years ago in a hunger strike at a prison in Northern Ireland, recalled in a somber service as heroes and martyrs for Ireland.
The memorial Mass, officiated by Msgr. Eugene V. Clark, was the biggest in a decade to honor the hunger strikers and was timed to follow a similar remembrance held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the organizers said.
The widow of Mr. Sands, the first of the 10 to starve in a protest over the imprisonment of I.R.A. members by the British authorities, appeared in black. She said nothing during the Mass -- the prayers were led by Mr. Coleman and the monsignor -- but outside the cathedral she expressed gratitude for the turnout, which was said to be among the largest since memorial Masses for the hunger strikers were first held in the early 1980's. The annual service was last performed at St. Patrick's in 1991, according to organizers.
The widow, Geraldine Sands, said the crowded pews gave her renewed hope that her husband's death still held meaning for the Irish people.
''I worry about people forgetting,'' said Mrs. Sands, who rarely speaks publicly. ''It was a big sacrifice we all gave. It should never be forgotten.''
Mrs. Sands said she did not want to comment on the current political situation in Northern Ireland, but she said the strike in 1981 was an unusual event that brought together many disparate people in Ireland and around the world. That unity was reflected in the cross section of Irish Americans and others in attendance yesterday, most of whom put their differences aside for the day.
As an example, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Catholic group that runs the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Manhattan, shared communion with members of the Lavender and Green Alliance, a gay and lesbian organization that has been critical of the parade's exclusion of openly homosexual groups.
''I wouldn't like to think they died for nothing,'' Mrs. Sands said of her husband and the other hunger strikers. ''Of course, it was worth it.''
During his sermon, Monsignor Clark spoke of the 10 as martyrs in the tradition of St. Ambrose and St. Thomas More. He said their deaths should serve as an inspiration of self-sacrifice. ''It is a very important thing that you keep this all alive in your minds and pass it on to other people,'' he said in closing.
Larry Downes, president of the Friends of Sinn Fein Organization, said the hunger strike in 1981 changed Irish history by giving inspiration to the Republican political movement and educating people around the world about the Republican cause. ''It was the springboard for the current peace process,'' Mr. Downes said.
- Dean E. Murphy
Source