‘I'm not going to do anything that isn't possible to do together': peacemaker Lord Eames celebrates 50 years since consecration
Derry
as the city's
Church of Irelan
d bishop,
Robin Eames
, has vivid memories of two things: the suffering of the city on
Bloody Sunday
and its aftermath, and being reunited with the man who would go on to become a lifelong friend, his Catholic counterpart, Bishop Edward Daly.
'I broke with tradition and made history because, without realising it was the first and only time it had happened, I invited him to my consecration and he walked beside me,' Lord Eames said.
'That friendship and that hope image of what we wanted to do together took me through all the years of my service here, and Edward and I became very close friends and we did lots of things which were never publicised, but I hope were for the good of the people of this place.
'We treated each other as men, as people, forgot about the fabric of office ... We acted together.'
READ MORE
Speaking following a service in St Columb's Cathedral in Derry to mark the 50th anniversary of his consecration as Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Lord Eames recalled going, at Bishop Daly's suggestion, 'into the Bogside all by myself and going from door to door simply saying look, 'I'm Robin Eames, the new Church of Ireland bishop, I just called to say hello, I'm glad to meet you.'
'It was there in one of those houses, when the door opened, and a hush fell over the conversation, and somebody walked through the door straight over to me with a hand outreached.
'He said simply, 'Welcome to Derry. I'm John Hume', and that was the meeting of two people who were to work together in the years to come.'
In 1986, Lord Eames became Archbishop of Armagh and the head of the Church of Ireland; serving in this role from 1986 to 2006, he known for his work in peacebuilding and reconciliation, often, as in Derry, working in conjunction with his Catholic counterpart.
He had been due to preach the sermon for Remembrance Day sermon in Enniskillen in 1987, a service that never took place. Eleven people died when an IRA bomb exploded at the town's cenotaph; Lord Eames spent the day in the hospital, and later wrote that the experiences of that day 'will never leave me.'
As Church of Ireland primate he had a direct role in trying to resolve the Drumcree dispute of the mid-1990s, and in 1998 was an advocate for a 'yes' vote in the referendum on the
Belfast Agreement
.
Throughout, his approach was inspired by his belief in human connections. 'It's what's always made sense to me in my ministry ... I have emphasised over and over again that I'm not going to do anything that isn't possible to do together.
'That's been the way of it, and I hope that's what people will remember when they bury me,' Lord Eames said.
Following his retirement in 2006, Lord Eames became co-chair, along with Denis Bradley, of the Consultative Group on the Past, an independent group set up to examine how to deal with the legacy of the North's Troubles.
Its recommendations included an independent commission to examine legacy cases over a five-year period, but it became embroiled in controversy after a plan for a £12,000 payment to victims' families was leaked, and its proposals were never adopted.
'That report, quite honestly, turned out to be before its time,' Lord Eames said. 'If there had been time before we published it, I think it might have had more effect. So much that has happened since could have been avoided ... But I don't regret one word of it.'
To move forward, Ireland must 'look back on its past with humility' and acknowledge 'hurts have been inflicted on both sides'.
'If we can only have the humility to say yes, these things happened, but they've no part and place in our future,' he said. 'Let's learn from the past, let's learn from the mistakes.
'In Ireland we've so much going for us, so many opportunities, and if only we can be a generation that takes these opportunities, I believe the future is bright for us all.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Irish Times
Family that rejected six housing offers fails in court bid for emergency accommodation
A mother and their children, who turned down six offers of houses by Clare County Council, have failed in their High Court bid to force the council to provide them with emergency accommodation. Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger ruled that Clare County Council had lawfully discharged its statutory duties regarding the provision of emergency accommodation to the family, which includes seven children. The judge said the family members are not entitled to require the council to offer them emergency accommodation from housing stock earmarked for social housing. Martina Sherlock Mongans and her seven children, who are members of the Travelling community, sought to bring proceedings against Clare County Council, the Minister for Housing, the Attorney General and Ireland, claiming they should be allocated emergency accommodation in a three-bedroom unit that is part of the council's social housing stock. READ MORE The family now lives in a single room in a relative's house. 'Undoubtedly, the situation in which they are currently living in one room in a relation's house is appalling,' the judge said. However, she found that the council acted 'reasonably and lawfully' in making six separate offers of emergency accommodation to them. She, therefore, could not find the circumstances required to interfere in how the council exercised its discretion. The family was evicted from a rented council house in Lahinch, Co Clare, in July 2024 and deemed homeless by the local authority. Hotel accommodation was arranged for several weeks from July 31st, 2024. Setting out the background to the case, the judge said that, since August 2024, six different own-door accommodation options have been offered as emergency accommodation. She said each had been refused for various reasons, including concerns about safety, suitability and distance from the children's schools. The judge said it is surprising that this 'entirely unsatisfactory arrangement prevails in preference to the six houses offered to the family'. She said this is perhaps indicative of how strongly the family feels about the conditions and location of each of the houses offered. The judge said the family did not establish any cause of action or grounds for her to permit them to bring their case against the State parties. The judge said the family wanted accommodation in Ennistymon or Lahinch, largely because of one of their children's educational needs. The judge said she was satisfied Clare County Council assessed the particular needs of the family in a manner that was reasonable, rational and lawful when offering them six of the accommodations. The judge said that, in effect, the family asserted a right to emergency accommodation in a house that the council has earmarked for social housing on the basis of exceptional circumstances in which they are currently living. The family's refusal of six separate offers of reasonable own-door accommodation means the family is no longer homeless within the meaning of the Housing Act, the judge found. 'The family are living in extremely difficult circumstances and no one could be anything but sympathetic and concerned at that. However, they do not have rights over and above what is provided for in legislation or any enhanced rights to determine subjectively what is or is not a reasonable accommodation for them,' the judge said.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Master brewer who died in Cork house fire remembered as ‘gentle giant with big heart'
A master brewer who died in a house fire in Cork city last week knew the importance of time and 'put more into the life of others than he took out,' his requiem Mass has heard. Peter Lyall, who was remembered as a 'gentle giant with a big heart,' died when a fire broke out at his home in Hollyhill in the early hours of July 21st. The 57-year-old, who worked at the Franciscan Well brewery in Cork for over two decades, was pronounced dead at the scene. His beloved dog Charlie also died. His partner Anna Neville managed to get out of the property and was transferred to hospital. Fr Sean O'Sullivan told mourners at St Mary's on the Hill Church, in Knocknaheeny on Monday that Mr Lyall learned a lot about life from the brewing process which he said involves 'choosing the finest ingredients', blending them in the right proportions and then giving them the time to ferment. READ MORE 'Family, friendship, his passion for work, his love of basketball and coaching, his love of fun and a bit of craic – they were the ingredients of his life he blended them into something that, like his beer, will last long beyond them.' Mr Lyall had also been a coach at Fr Mathew's Basketball club in the city. Shane Long, founder of The Franciscan Well bar and brewery, said Mr Lyall was a modest man. He said Mr Lyall was 'instrumental in producing a beer called Sunbeam' and that he never took any credit for it. 'And when everybody else is gone from here, his beer will still be there, a lasting memory for the amazing man he was.' He also said Mr Lyall met Ms Neville, 'the love of his life', over three decades ago and adored her, their children and grandchildren. Mr Lyall's grandson Paul said he had an infectious laugh which could be 'heard across a room and maybe even through the walls'. Chanice and Kia said he was a 'magical' grandfather who made them feel safe and loved and always told them how proud he was of them. Mr Lyall is survived by his partner Ms Neville, his daughters Sarah and Johann, his five siblings, grandchildren, relatives, neighbours and friends.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Dispute over elderly Wexford man's will leaving estate to 38 nieces and nephews should be decided in Circuit Court, judge rules
A dispute over the estate of a deceased Co Wexford man whose will left it to his 38 nieces and nephews is not appropriate for hearing in the High Court and should be heard in the Circuit Court, a judge has ruled. The dispute concerns the estate, including his home at Iskabeg, the Ballagh, Enniscorthy, of Michael Redmond (98), a widower with no children who died in a nursing home in December 2021. In a will dated June 22nd, 2015, Mr Redmond left his estate to his nieces and nephews and there are 38 beneficiaries, aged between 50 and 79, the judge said. In late 2022, the estate executors issued proceedings against the deceased's nephew, Michael Corrigan (76), and Mr Corrigan's daughter, Shinéad , seeking possession of the farmhouse property. The executors say the house was previously valued at €230,000, but this may have increased. READ MORE The defendants issued a defence and also counterclaimed for orders, including for specific performance of an alleged agreement by Mr Redmond the property would be left to Mr Corrigan, and damages of €60,000. In late 2023, Mr Corrigan issued separate High Court proceedings against the executors, seeking orders including payment of €286,000 quantum merit damages, which are damages for provision of goods or services without a formal contract. Mr Corrigan, who is among the beneficiaries of his uncle's will, claims Mr Redmond, his godfather, promised him the farmhouse property and, on foot of that, he had left Achill Island and has lived in it since 2017. He claims he has carried out extensive renovation and upkeep works to the house and curtilage and is the rightful owner. In her recently published High Court judgment, granting an application by the executors to have the dispute decided in the Circuit Court rather than the High Court, Ms Justice Cahill said the orders sought in the High Court claim are almost identical to those sought in the counterclaim to the Circuit Court case. The 'only noticeable' difference is between the sums of damages claimed, she said. There was 'no justification' stated in the court papers for this 'significant' jump on the amount of damages, she said. However, because the executors had consented to the Circuit Court having 'unlimited monetary jurisdiction' in a claim of the type advanced in the existing proceedings in that court, the monetary difference in both claims was not a material matter. For those reasons, and to avoid unnecessary and undesirable multiplicity of proceedings seeing substantially the same orders, and dealing with the same claims and the same property, she was satisfied it was appropriate to remit the High Court proceedings to Wexford Circuit Court. The imperative must be to have all disputes related to the estate resolved so it can be administered without further undue delay or unnecessary costs incurred, she said. Earlier in her decision, the judge noted Mr Corrigan had not attended the hearing of the executors' application. Ms Corrigan did attend but did not identify any 'exceptional circumstances' to justify her attempts to advocate for her father. The judge had ruled there was no basis established for adjourning the hearing of the application and Ms Corrigan had no right to make submissions to the court on the matter. The executors, the judge noted, refuted allegations, including of wrongdoing, made against them by Ms Corrigan in an affidavit which related mainly to the merits of the underlying dispute.
