IRISH PRAYERS FOR OUR SOULS
By Amanda Diamond
PEOPLE throughout Ireland have joined together to help Irish emigrants living in poverty in Britain.
In a spontaneous show of solidarity fundraising initiatives and awareness-raising drives are taking place all over the country to help those emigrants who have fallen on hard times in Britain.
The move comes in the wake of an RTÉ documentary that showed many elderly Irish emigrants living in appalling conditions in Britain.
Catholic Bishops throughout Ireland have joined the campaign and are offering their unswerving support to emigrants living in poverty and isolation in this country.
They have agreed to organise a series of Masses in the month of March to highlight the plight of Irish emigrants.
The Masses will take place around St. Patrick’s Day and include special collections to raise money for emigrant services and homeless centres helping Irish people across Britain.
The Bishops hope to raise awareness of the many post-war Irish emigrants who continue to live in squalid and depressing conditions.
Father Gerry Cusack of the Holy Trinity Abbey in Co. Cavan said: “It is vitally important for us to be involved in this campaign. These men and women left Ireland at a time when there was very little in this country.
“They sent billions of pounds back here over the years which kept our economy afloat.
“Now is the time for us to provide a big push in raising necessary funds for these poor people.
“It is time for us to give something of what they gave to this country back to them.”
The plight of many emigrants has also been placed firmly on the political agenda. The Dáil is set to debate a Labour Party motion next week that condemns the Government’s sustained neglect of Irish emigrants in Britain.
Leader of the Labour Party Pat Rabbitte said many Irish people were shocked at the terrible conditions in which some Irish emigrants were forced to live. He praised those Irish who were forced to leave their homeland in the 1950s and 1960s but had still played a major role in sustaining families and communities back in Ireland at a time of poverty.
He said: “Successive governments have shown little appreciation of the contribution they made to the Irish economy and many now feel abandoned and neglected.”
The RTÉ Prime Time documentary which highlighted the problems of some emigrants showed harrowing stories of loneliness, depression, homelessness and suicide. It prompted unprecedented action from various communities in Ireland.
People from Co. Cavan have already raised over ¤10,000 for the London-based Cricklewood Homeless Concern (CHC) project which helps destitute Irish emigrants and had been faced with closure because of a funding crisis.
Local singer Josephine Mulvenna staged a Christmas concert at Holy Trinity Abbey in Ballyjamesduff in Co. Cavan which attracted more than 200 people and raised over ¤2,200.
Other cash donations also poured in as well as clothes and bedding for CHC.
This week the centre will receive a lorry-load of beds and blankets along with 165 bags of clothes and sheets all donated by the people of Cavan, Westmeath and Mayo.
CHC Director Danny Maher said: “It is so generous and we are absolutely delighted with the donation.
“Some of the older Irish people have been sleeping on the same beds in run-down private accommodation for over 40 years and they are more than likely rotten.
“We can now distribute the new beds with new bedding which is great especially in this cold weather.
“It’s great that people in Ireland want to help. I don’t think they were aware of the extent of the poverty experienced by some Irish people over here. It’s great now that the issue is in the media and is at the front of people’s minds.”
Some 10,000 has now been raised by the appeal but the fundraising will is continuing with Ms Mulvenna planning another concert at the beginning of March.
The music event is set to take place at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar, Co. Mayo on March 1 where a variety of artists are planned for the occasion.
She said: “The venue holds up to 1,200 people and we are hoping it will be another sell-out event. We don’t want to let the people at the Cricklewood centre down so we want it to be a big success.”
Ms Mulvenna learned about the Cricklewood centre after listening to an appeal on a local radio station.
She said: “I felt I had to do something to help. As many as 900 people pass through their doors each year — more than half of whom are Irish.
“Centres like CHC are lifelines for so many people. The centres are the reason that many elderly emigrants are still alive.
“They don’t just provide shelter — they help with alcohol abuse, healthcare, advocacy and basically just offer a listening ear.
“By supporting centres like CHC the people in Ireland are part of keeping these lifelines alive.”
Other initiatives have also been launched in Limerick, Kerry and Dublin to raise money for the previously-forgotten emigrants.
Ms Mulvenna said: “If the people of Ireland all join in and do something to help our emigrants then the government might be forced into doing something more to help these people.
“If the nation speaks up on behalf of isolated and vulnerable Irish people living abroad then the government will hopefully be shamed into taking the issue more seriously than it does at the moment.
“These poor people cannot be expected to live out the rest of their days in such conditions. It is a disgrace and I feel that the people of Ireland will not let it continue.”
If you would like to make a donation to Cricklewood Homeless Concern write to Danny Maher, Cricklewood Homeless Concern, 60 Ashford Road, London NW2 6TU or call 020 8208 1608.
Alternatively you can email the.
director@cricklewoodhomelessconcern.co.uk
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