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April 01, 2005

Michael Devine’s Sister Suddenly Dies

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Table of Contents - Overall
Table of Contents – Apr 2005
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News about Ireland & the Irish

DJ 04/01/04 Sudden Death Of Derry Hunger Striker's Sister
GU 04/01/05 New Doubts Over FARC Convictions
BT 04/01/05 SF Poised For Election Success In South- Adams
DJ 04/01/05 Holy Cross Families Caught Up In Caravan Crossfire
BB 04/01/05 Bishop Banned Over Violence Fears
TE 04/01/05 Opin: Anachronism Of Catholic Discrimination
DJ 04/01/05 Seized Assets Must Fund Victim Support - Durkan
BB 04/01/05 New Call Centre Brings Jobs Boost
BT 04/01/05 Shock Findings On Teens' Attitude To Terror
TE 04/01/05 Top Irish Peace Prize For Margaret Hassan
DJ 04/01/05 Derry Treasure Trove To Be Found On E-Bay
AT 04/01/05 Irish Night @ JCC - Celebration Of Diversity
PC 04/01/05 AOH: 'Quiet Crusade' Continues

(Poster's Note: Bush Sings the Draft http://bored.kizash.com/films/1001/138/index.php)

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http://www.derryjournal.com/story/6156

Sudden Death Of Derry Hunger Striker's Sister

Friday 1st April 2005

A sister of Derry hunger striker Michael Devine - the last man to die in the 1981 Long
Kesh jail protest - died suddenly at her home earlier this week.

Margaret McCauley, who passed away suddenly on Tuesday evening, was aged 58. She is
survived by her husband, Bill, and daughters, Lisa and Cathy.

It's believed Mrs. McCauley attended an Easter commemoration at Derry's City Cemetery
last weekend.

She was also present at the recent unveiling of a Garden of Remembrance for the 1981
hungerstrikers in Bundoran, Co. Donegal.

The Creggan woman came to public prominence during her brother's prison protests -
firstly when he joined the blanket protest in 1977 and then when he went on hunger
striker in 1981.

Michael Devine, an INLA prisoner, began his hunger strike on June 22, 1981, and died
on August 20.

Twenty years later, Mrs. McCauley recalled the heartbreaking final visit of her
brother's children, Michael Jnr. and Louise, to see their father on his deathbed.

She said: "I will never forget when he asked to see his two young children.

"As I brought them to his bedside, I sat Michael Jnr. on one side and Louise on the
other. I lifted Mickey's two hands and placed them on their heads.

"The children were absolutely terrified. After ten minutes, it was time for them to
go.

"As I looked back, I saw a skeleton of a man with tears running down his face. To this
day I don't remember who I handed the children over to. I had to go back and pretend
everything was all right."

Speaking in New York at an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1981 hunger
strikes, Mrs. McCauley told an audience: "His last words to me were: 'Don't sign'. He
died at 7.50 a.m. weighing only five stone. "I brought him home that evening and waked
him for three days. Did I do the right thing? Well, he told me he was doing it for his
children, his children's children and the generations to come."

Mrs. McCauley, who was born in Ardmore on the outskirts of Derry, lived most of her
life in the Creggan.

Former IRA hunger striker Raymond McCartney said republicans were shocked to hear of
Mrs. McCauley's sudden death.

"This has obviously come as a major shock to republicans, especially when she was so
full of life and looked so healthy at the recent Easter commemoration," he said.

"She was always very loyal to her brother, Michael, and what he died for. She will be
greatly missed by all.

"We all knew her and the republican community sympathises greatly with her children
and wider family.

"I would like to express personal sympathy to her husband Bill and her two children,
Lisa and Cathy," he said.

The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) in Derry also paid tribute to Mrs.
McCauley, describing her death as a "terrible loss".

Spokesman Eamon O'Donnell said: "On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement,
I would like to offer our condolences to her immediate family circle and to her nephew
and niece Mickey Og and Louise Devine and express our shock and sadness at the
untimely death of Margaret.

"As we enter the 24th year of remembrance to the ten brave INLA and IRA volunteers who
died on hunger striker, it will undoubtedly prove to be a difficult time for the
families of those whose sons and brothers who died during that period of our struggle
against British imperialism.

"Margaret ensured that the honour and great sacrifice of her brother and that of his
comrades were remembered with pride as she attended each and every commemoration and
event with her own personal dignity. It will, of course, bring many emotions and
memories flooding back to her family, to the relatives of those like Margaret who lost
so much and to the people of Derry. Margaret will be sadly missed by everyone who knew
her. "

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,1449809,00.html

New Doubts Over FARC Convictions

Friday April 1, 2005
The Guardian

The Irish government was urged yesterday to intervene to help three Irish republicans
convicted of training Colombian guerrillas, after a judge queried the court evidence.

Jorge Enrique Torres said evidence used to convict James Monaghan, 58, Niall Connolly,
38, and Martin McCauley, 41 - now on the run, possibly in Venezuela - was
"questionable". He said he could not agree the men were guilty of training Farc
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels.

Catriona Ruane, a Sinn Féin member of the Northern Ireland legislative assembly, said
the Irish government must act following the comments.

The men had been acquitted by a lower court in April 2004 and released on bail from a
Bogotá jail pending the Colombian government's appeal. They then vanished. Mr Torres
was one of three judges who convicted them in December and sentenced them in absentia
to 17 years.

The men deny the charge and of being IRA members

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=625416

Sinn Fein Poised For Election Success In South, Says Adams

By Noel McAdam, Political Correspondent
nmcadam@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
01 April 2005

Sinn Fein today talked up a new election success in the Republic - just days before
the political focus switches to the next Westminster battle.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said the party was on the verge of a breakthrough in
this weekends' elections for the Údarás na Gaeltachta - a 20-strong economic
development body aimed at attracting investment to the Gaeltacht regions including
Galway, Kerry, Mayo and Cork.

With party names appearing on the ballot papers for the first time, Mr Adams accused
the body of failing to deliver sufficiently on the Irish language or job creation.

"Sinn Fein is on the verge of an historic breakthrough. A vote for us is a vote for
change (as well as) the peace process and for Irish re-unification," he added.

But SDLP leader Mark Durkan warned votes for republicans would only strengthen the
arrogance of Sinn Fein's arrogance and the complacency of the IRA.

As pre-campaign sniping between the parties continued, the former Deputy First
Minister insisted: "This time around, Sinn Fein spin is not going to work.

"People are angry that Sinn Fein has not delivered on its promises. Because of IRA
involvement in organised crime - and Sinn Fein's attempts to cover it up - the good
name of northern nationalism has been weakened at home and abroad."

The Foyle MLA - facing a strong Westminster challenge from Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel
McLaughlin - said the result had been to make the DUP stronger than ever.

For its part, the DUP lambasted Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble as the formal
deadline for an electoral pact between the two parties passed.

DUP leader Ian Paisley said Mr Trimble had failed to deny he wanted unionists in
Foyle, South Down and Newry and Armagh to vote tactically for the SDLP.

He warned: "Every unionist who votes for an SDLP candidate will have that vote
hijacked by the SDLP and Sinn Fein and counted as an endorsement of a united Ireland."

And DUP MLA accused Mr Trimble of "fantasy" in arguing the DUP's new proposals Moving
On should be called Catching Up.

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http://www.derryjournal.com/story/6145

Holy Cross Families Caught Up In Caravan Crossfire

Friday 1st April 2005

Belfast families at the centre of the Holy Cross school protests in Belfast are among
mobile home owners caught up in the Downings caravans controversy.

In a statement from a group calling itself the 'Atlantic View Caravans Owners
Committee', the members say all the families on the site have been holidaying in the
Downings area for generations.

"Many come from builtup areas where to allow our children to play outdoors would be
detrimental to their health and safety," the statement read.

"For example, we have families who bring their children here for respite from the Holy
Cross School situation and also foster families who benefit from the unique Gaeltacht
cultural experience.

"As parents, we feel that to take away the joy, freedom and innocence our children
experience here would be a terrible wrongdoing."

The statement continued: "While families come from various Northern counties, a vast
number are Donegal residentsleftwonderinghow our local Council could make scapegoats
of us in this travesty.

"Whilst acknowledging that mistakes have been made on both sides, we urgently appeal
that this matter be resolved between the site owners and the Council, thereby ending
this period of trauma and anguish put upon these innocent families."

The caravan owners have offered an alternative to what they say is the impossible task
of removing every caravan from the sites.

"We are appealing for our caravans to remain on site and that the keys from every
single mobile be handed over to any recognised official to verify that the site will
no longer be in use while matters are being processed.

"We are open to any other compromise that can be suggested."

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/4398945.stm

Bishop Banned Over Violence Fears

A Roman Catholic bishop from Australia was banned from parts of Britain and Ireland
because of fears he would spark a riot, newly released papers reveal.

Home Office papers released on Friday show fears that Doctor Daniel Mannix, the Irish-
born Archbishop of Melbourne, was a Sinn Fein supporter.

He was banned from Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Ireland when he visited the UK
in 1920.

The documents are now available at the National Archive in Kew, London.

Dr Mannix arrived in Britain in August 1920, but could not be banned comlpetely as he
was a British subject.

Disorder fears

An official decree said he was "suspected of having acted and of being about to act in
a manner prejudicial to the public safety and the defence of the Realm".

He was diverted from the SS Baltic, which was heading for Liverpool, to a ship heading
for Penzancel, amid fears that his arrival might lead to disorder on Merseyside.

A Lancashire Constabulary chief constable wrote: "I am not only afraid, but I know
that we shall have serious disturbances in the neighbourhood if he comes.

"It is an open secret that the Orangemen are arranging forces with a view to forming a
counter demonstration, and they mean to come into open conflict."

Meeting ban

Authorities in some areas were given powers by the Home Office to ban any meeting or
procession if they suspected a riot might break out.

And the chief constable of Bootle Borough refused permission for a meeting in its town
hall, saying: "I have received definite information that if any meeting or procession
is attempted, an organised demonstration of protest is being arranged to prevent it,
and this I am convinced would result in serious rioting, as feeling at the moment is
intense."

Archbishop Mannix, who died in 1962, had been president of the Seminary to train
priests in Maynooth, Ireland, before his appointment to Melbourne in 1914.

He publicly opposed conscription in Australia in World War I.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/03/31 23:34:20 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/03/28/dl2801.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2005/03/28/ixopinion.html

Opin: The Anachronism Of Catholic Discrimination

Imagine a religion that was once considered so abhorrent that a country's head of
state is still forbidden not only to belong to it, but also to marry anyone who does.
Moreover, even his or her distant relations become ineligible to become head of state
if they marry someone who adheres to this faith.

The country is modern Britain; the religion in question is not a sect of hooded
satanists, but the world's largest Christian Church. The legislation barring "anyone
who should profess the Popish religion or marry a Papist" is the Act of Settlement of
1701, which was intended to be - and remains - profoundly offensive to Roman
Catholics.

Now Michael Howard, in an interview with the Catholic Herald, has said that a
Conservative government would "certainly consider" repealing the Act. "After all,
there is no prohibition on the monarch or the monarch's consort being members of any
other religion," he said, "and so I think it's an anachronism that Catholicism should
be singled out." In fact, the Tory leader's grasp of constitutional law is a little
shaky: there is a requirement that the monarch should be in communion with the Church
of England. This is discriminatory, but at least it discriminates against all non-
Anglicans equally. Furthermore, its removal might lead to the disestablishment of the
Church of England, in our view an unnecessary step.

On the other hand, only Roman Catholics are barred from marrying the monarch. Prince
William or, for that matter, Zenouska Mowatt (37th in line to the throne) may wed a
Zoroastrian or Scientologist without losing the right of succession, but not a member
of a Church to which five million Britons belong.

This provision of the Act of Settlement made sense to Parliament at the beginning of
the 18th century, when most Englishmen identified the Pope with the Antichrist. Its
presence on the statute books today is indeed an anachronism, and sits particularly
oddly with New Labour's unworkable proposals for a law against "religious hatred"
whose real purpose is to attract Muslim votes in marginal seats.

Instead of passing an Act that will increase inter-faith tensions, the next government
should repeal or amend one that was inspired by genuine hatred. It should do so even
though, as Mr Howard admits, this sort of constitutional surgery is invariably
delicate and complicated.

In the end, this law does not just discriminate against Britain's largest religious
minority: it also curtails the human rights of a 22-year-old undergraduate, and in an
area that really matters to him. As Prince William must have noticed, there are lots
of pretty Catholic girls out there.

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http://www.derryjournal.com/story/6155

Seized Assets 'Must Fund Victim Support' - Says SDLP Leader, Mark Durkan

Friday 1st April 2005

Assets seized from paramilitaries must be used to help victims of violence, SDLP
leader Mark Durkan has said.

The Foyle MLA says everything should be done to stamp out racketeers and victim
support is the best use for seized money.

Mr. Durkan believes the money could help to fund counselling and trauma centres,
respite care and compensation.

He said: "Many paramilitaries have made fortunes out of the troubles, through drugs,
smuggling, racketeering and armed robbery.

"The revelation that loyalist Colin Armstrong owns 47 houses in Northern Ireland plus
one in Dublin and one in France shows just how much money some people have made out of
other people's misery.

"The SDLP is proposing that all these ill-gotten gains be given back to those who
deserve them most, all the victims of the Troubles. They should be put into a fund
with contributions from the British government, which has its own responsibilities
arising from the Troubles.

"This fund should not be used as an excuse by the British Government to evade or
reduce its own responsibilities to victims. There is much that the British Government
needs to find money for right away. The new fund should be additional, to develop
state-of-the-art services."

Mr. Durkan says victims and survivors should themselves help decide what the money
should be spent on.

"That is why the SDLP is calling for a Victims' and Survivors' Forum to be convened,
so that their voices may be heard. Instead of having others speak for them, they
should be empowered to speak for themselves.

"Areas that clearly need improvement include counselling and trauma centres, respite
care, compensation and career and occupational support. We stress again that the fund
should not be used to pay for basic services, nor should new services which are needed
have to await finance from the fund.

"Nobody knows the full scale of the paramilitaries' assets, but it can safely be
assumed to be in the hundreds of millions of pounds. The paramilitaries have always
claimed to act in the name of the people: how could they object to these assets being
given to those who suffered most throughout the Troubles?"

The Assets Recovery Agency targets the profits of paramilitaryrun organised crime,
investigating dirty money from prostitution to protection rackets.

If it can convince a court that someone is enjoying a lifestyle which they cannot
possibly have earned legally, a judge can order their possessions to be confiscated
and sold.

Earlier this month, the DUP's Nigel Dodds said the Agency appeared to be targeting
more loyalists than republicans.

Mr. Dodds said figures supplied by the security minister show four times as many
criminal assets have been recovered from loyalists.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4400065.stm

New Call Centre Brings Jobs Boost

Hundreds of jobs are being brought to west Belfast by one of the UK's largest
privately owned marketing company, it has been announced.

LBM said their call centre in Springvale Business Park was expected to create 300 jobs
within four months, rising to 750 in about a year.

Recruitment has begun with an opening date in mid-April.

It is anticipated the project will generate over £50m in salaries locally over the
next five years.

Announcing the investment Leslie Morrison, chief executive of economic generation
agency Invest Northern Ireland, welcomed the investment.

"This project is a positive demonstration of the company's confidence in the skills
and capabilities of the Northern Ireland workforce and the region's ability to attract
quality inward investment," he said.

'Competitive market'

Invest NI has offered £6.5m against the creation of up to 750 jobs, with the grant
related directly to the firm making its employment targets.

LBM has its head office in Altrincham, near Manchester, and employs more than 1,500
people across North West England and in London.

Its existing call centres are in Altrincham, Bredbury and Middleton.

Managing director of LBM Contact Ben Dixon said they wanted to achieve success in a
competitive market.

"We chose Belfast, above any other location in the UK and further afield because of
the access it will give us to a talented local workforce and the availability of
quality office space," he said.

The company services a number of blue chip clients including O2, npower, Alliance &
Leicester and the Dixons Group.

"We plan to use our new Belfast operation to support new business development and
service our expanding client base," Mr Dixon added.

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2005/04/01 09:03:26 GMT
© BBC MMV

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=625421

Shock Findings On Teens' Attitude To Terror

By Claire Regan
cregan@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
01 April 2005

Worrying attitudes to paramilitary organisations by children in border areas have been
highlighted in new research by Queen's University.

The study, which is part of a major project examining national identity on the border,
revealed that young people between 14 and 16 years old explained involvement in
paramilitary activity as either a 'positive choice', or as the outcome of pressure
from family or friends, or even as a result of events they had experienced.

Details of the findings were presented at a symposium organised during the annual
British Psychological Society conference in the University of Manchester today.

'Social Identities and Children's Social Lives' looked at research on children's
social identities and the way these impact on children's and young people's everyday
experiences.

According to lead researcher Queen's psychologist Dr Orla Muldoon essays by the
children asking them to explain why people joined paramilitary groups, pointed to the
importance of religious and national identity.

"We discovered that there were four categories of explanation as to why someone would
join a paramilitary organisation," she said.

"Some felt family values played a major role, while others believed that people should
defend themselves.

"Another group felt those who joined often did so out of curiosity, or because they
were bored, while the fourth believed recruits were either 'bad' or 'mad'."

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/31/uhassan.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/03/31/ixportaltop.html

Top Peace Prize For Murdered Aid Worker

(Filed: 31/03/2005)

The husband of murdered Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan will travel to Ireland
to accept the country's most prestigious peace prize on her behalf.

Margaret Hassan spent 30 years working in Iraq

Tahseen Hassan has accepted an invitation to visit Tipperary town with other family
members on April 15 to accept the Tipperary International Peace Prize.

Mr Hassan, a Baghdad-based economist, will receive a specially commissioned Waterford
Crystal Award from the Peace Convention Committee.

Mrs Hassan's abduction in Baghdad on October 19 sparked appeals to her captors from
the British and Irish governments.

A video of her apparent murder was released in December, but her body has never been
recovered.

Announcing details of the event today, Martin Quinn, a Tipperary Peace Convention
spokesman, would not confirm that Mr Hassan would be attending.

Nevertheless, local sources insist that he agreed to a written invitation to accept
the Peace Prize on behalf of his late wife, who he married in Baghdad in 1972.

A Peace Convention statement said: "In honouring the life of Margaret Hassan, the
Peace Convention recognises her tireless work for the Iraqi people over 30 years,
which she dedicated to the poor and vulnerable and to those who were most in need in
her adopted country. "

Mr Hassan made several emotional pleas for Dublin-born Margaret's release during her
captivity.

Previous recipients of the annual Tipperary award include Nelson Mandela, Mikhail
Gorbachev, Bill Clinton and Bob Geldof.

Mrs Hassan began working for Care International in 1991 and had earlier provided
humanitarian relief to needy Iraqis for more than 25 years.

When she was kidnapped, Mrs Hassan was head of the charity's operations in the
country.

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http://www.derryjournal.com/story/6140

Derry Treasure Trove To Be Found On E-Bay

Friday 1st April 2005

e-Bay, The world's most popular on-line auction house, is a veritable treasure trove
of Derry memorabilia - in particular if it's vintage postcards or rare Derry City FC
souvenirs you're after.

A quick search of the e-Bay website reveals a multitude of Derryrelated items for
sale.

From antiquated images of Victorian Derry to out-of-print Derry City FC programmes;
from Apprentice of Boys of Derry memorabilia to original Undertones pinbadges, they're
all there on e-Bay.

Among the 'Candy Stripes' souvenirs up for grabs are relatively rare match programmes
from yesteryear.

The official match booklet for the 1989 FAI Cup Final between Derry and Cork City is
on sale as are the programmes for the 1992 UEFA Cup tie against Dutch kingpins Vitesse
Arnhem, the 1988 European Cup draw with Cardiff City and the 1991 friendly with
Norway's Under-21s.

The vintage postcards on offer include memorable scenes such as the River Foyle
photographed from Gobnascale, Shipquay Street viewed from The Diamond, and Guildhall
Square pictured from the City Walls.

The very fact that Derry is featured on the website goes to prove the immense
popularity of e-Bay and just how much it has infiltrated people's everyday lives.

Towards the end of last year, the company --established 10 years ago --reported a 77%
rise in profits to $182.3m over the three months to the end of September, while sales
surged 51%. e-Bay's success can, in part, be attributed to its gift for knowing when
it should move into a new market.

It moved to Europe in 1999. Then its nearest rival in the UK was QXL. Nowadays, that
company's biggest market is Switzerland.

In contrast, e-Bay has gone from strength to strength. Its biggest market is Germany,
helped in part by that country's restrictive trading laws, which means that shops are
closed on Sunday.

China was a key Asian target for the company. Boss Meg Whitman and e-Bay's then
international vice president Stephanie Telenius snapped up a start-up firm called
EachNet.

The rest is history --China is now eBay's fastest-growing market.

The group now has its eyes on India, snapping up Baazee.com - the country's biggest
online retailer -last year for $50m, even though only 1.6% of its population is on the
net.

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http://www.sherman.americantowns.com/servlets/WebPage?actionid=781&eid=23784&oactid=330&cl=508729&evtid=3450495&chy=2005&chm=3&chd=2

Irish Night At The JCC - A Celebration Of Diversity

Date: Saturday, April 2, 2005
Time: Starting at 7:00pm
Address: JCC, 9 Route 39 South, Sherman, CT 06784

Details:

Irish Night at the JCC - A Celebration of Diversity
Presenting Theo Garb "Growing Up Jewish in Ireland"
Saturday, April 2, 2005 - Doors Open at 7:00 pm

The Jewish Community Center in Sherman & the Danbury chapter of the Ancient Order of
Hibernians are joining forces to present an evening of food, friendship and fun. After
a fully authentic Irish meal with the accompaniment of a bagpiper and drums, the
audience will be treated to the comedy of Theo Garb, a noted Irish Jewish-American
humorist and singer.

Mr. Garb, the son of a former Cantor of Dublin tells a story worth hearing of his life
as a Jewish boy growing up in Ireland. His eloquent and poignant reflections capture
the World War II experience as well as the history and contemporary life of Jews in
Ireland.

Through his mirthful memories and melodies, Garb opens a window on a little known
Jewish sub-culture imbedded within a largely catholic society, a society which had
elected to high office two Jewish mayors of Dublin, Robert and Brian Briscoe, one in
Cork and three members of Parliament.

The evening will close with some traditional Irish songs, dessert and Irish Coffee.

Irish Night at the JCC is an event that was designed to strengthen cultural ties
between the Jewish and Irish communities of the region and to allow everyone to enjoy
the spirit of diversity through this shared experience. The event is open to the
public but space is limited so reservations are requested.

Admission for the event is $17.50. Please call the JCC at 860-355-8050 or send an e-
mail to jccsherman@sbcglobal.net to reserve your seats. The JCC is located at 9 Route
39 South in Sherman, a mile South of the Sherman Post Office.

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http://www.pittsburghcatholic.org/newsarticles_more.phtml?id=1382

'Quiet Crusade' Continues

by: Patricia Bartos

Men of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Allegheny County are beginning the second
phase of their volunteer renovation work at St. Patrick Church in Pittsburgh's Strip
District.

They launched the effort last March, overseeing painting of the interior of the
historic church. The original St. Patrick Church located nearby was the first to be
built in the city.

The current phase will involve installation of two new stained-glass windows at the
rear of the church, continuing the Hibernians' longtime tradition of donating stained-
glass windows to churches.

Father Harry Nichols, pastor of St. Patrick-St. Stanislaus Kostka, appreciates the
men's interest.

"I'm happy about what they're doing to help beautify St. Patrick and to help us
continue its long history of worship," he said.

In place of the present "ordinary plain glass windows" the church will now benefit
from "two beautiful stained-glass windows of St. Patrick and St. Brigid," he said.

The windows of the Irish saints were designed by Nick Parrendo of Hunt Stained Glass
Studios in the city's West End.

Stephen Wayhart, a member of AOH's Division 32 in Carnegie, calls it a "quiet
crusade."

The project will cost some $20,000, with the installation also including incidental
repairs. "There are gaps between the windows and wall, making it costly to keep the
church warm," said Bernie Donnelly, president of the Hibernians' Division 32, which is
leading the drive.

The men are one-third of the way to reaching that total.

"Our goal is to get $500 from 40 contributors," Donnelly said, noting that donors will
be listed on a commemorative plaque to be located near the windows.

Hibernian divisions were the first to contribute, followed by student members of the
Hibernians' junior division at Bishop Canevin High School in Pittsburgh's Oakwood
neighborhood.

The young men raised $500 through their "Sham Rock and Roll" fund-raiser recently and
donated the money when they attended the Hibernians' annual Mass in honor of St.
Patrick's Day at St. Patrick Church recently.

The Hibernians are planning a fund-raiser later in the spring and will wait until they
have 90 percent of their goal before beginning installation. "We're seeing lots of
interest," Donnelly said, "but the September floods hurt collections."

A number of potential contributors were hit by the flooding and had to delay helping
until they could get their homes and businesses back in order.

It was more than 100 years ago that the Hibernians began donating stained-glass
windows to churches. Most of the windows were given from the 1870s until the
Depression in the late 1920s in an effort to enhance the reputation of the Irish
immigrants.

They are the only such group to make gifting of stained-glass windows a goal. Several
years ago, the organization became interested in finding the windows. Members and
volunteers have fanned out throughout the country to locate and photograph them to
document the gifts.

They have thus far found 227 "Hibernian" windows in 30 states, in Ireland and Canada —
including in six cathedrals and wooden country churches.

A total of 20 of the windows were gifts of the Ladies AOH.

Three churches in Massachusetts each have three Hibernian windows. The state includes
53 windows found in 40 parishes — the most of any in the country. Pennsylvania
accounts for 26 of the windows.

In the Pittsburgh area, they are found at St. Luke (now part of St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton Parish) in Carnegie, Holy Name (part of Christ the Light of the World) in
Duquesne, St. Kieran (part of St. Matthew) in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood
and St. James (part of Guardian Angels) in the city's West End.

Windows have been found above altars, doorways, in rectories, confessionals and
staircases.

"We want to preserve them and not lose them," Wayhart said.

Donations payable to the AOH Allegheny County Board may be sent to Bern Donnelly, 1358
Raven Drive, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15243. Call 412-279-8220 for information.

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Table of Contents - Overall
Table of Contents – Apr 2005
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