90-year-old Irish priest on streets of riot-torn LA to 'stand with' immigrants

Irish Daily Mirror

11-06-2025

A 90-year-old Irish priest has told how he took to the streets during riots in Los Angeles to "stand with" immigrant families.
Fr Peter O'Reilly, who has been based in California for decades, was one of several clergymen and women who demonstrated against an ICE crackdown on illegals ordered by US President Donald Trump.
The retired cleric, who is originally from Co Longford, said ministers from various faiths had originally planned to have a prayer vigil on the steps of LA's City Hall.
He told RTE: "The meeting had been cancelled because of the fear of violence so I felt maybe the thing to do was maybe just mingle with the people and wearing my Roman collar, I thought that would be the best thing to do.
"To bear witness. To say, 'we stand with you'.
"The mood was serious. It was animated. People were talking to each other. Maybe about 15 yards away were the group who set up the barriers, street barriers, which I found out were to be used to protect them from the rubber bullets fired by the police.
"They were firing them. I was not near the front, maybe 15 to 20 yards away.
"The police were firing them maybe as a warning, do not riot. I had a feeling too because of what the mayor of Los Angeles had said, that this was not an insurrection.
"This is a manufactured thing from Washington, to create confusion and bring about violence rather than peace.
"With the Irish experience of being discriminated against for many years and knowing the discrimination here in this country against the Irish. I felt there was something personal about where I was, some of these communities and knowing how many of them were marginalised because of the colour of their skin.
"These were hardworking family-oriented people, that we needed to stand with them and let them know we were with them and for them."