Reflections

Reflections on writing about Irish Muslims

The Muslim community of New York is both well-established and well-integrated despite the stigmas that have emerged in post-9/11 America. Perhaps most important is the fact that the community is visible. Muslims are concentrated in certain areas — Atlantic Avenue and Bay Ridge — to name just two neighborhoods, where they participate in community and political activism. This may be a new phenomenon, manifested most notably during the Israeli War on Gaza, which saw hundreds of Muslims organize and participate in protests across New York City. At one protest at Times Square, which spanned over four blocks on a rainy Saturday afternoon, the opening verse of the Qur’an was recited and Muslims could be seen praying on the streets.

There are tens of private Islamic schools and mosques across the city, and it is generally agreed on that the Muslim population numbers roughly 400,000 to 600,000. Private Islamic schools are on the rise, with a demand in enrollment increasing substantially over the past five years. The community has also been politically active, and ran a get out- the-vote campaign in support of Democratic congressional candidate Michael McMahon, as well as Assemblywoman Janelle Hyer-Spencer (D-Stanton Island). Some 130 members of the community knocked on 9,000 doors in Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights; both candidates were elected. Read more

Looking for my sunday school at the Hare Krishna temple

INISRATH ISLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND – The children jumped off the ferry and dashed up the dirt path towards the Hare Krishna Temple in what was once a 19th century Victorian mansion on this remote island in rural Northern Ireland. Sadhbh Gracey, 12 years old, ran up the stairs, her two younger sisters Oren,10, and Sraddha, 6, close behind. They headed straight for the room at the end of the hallway where some of the children meet while the adults gather for their service in what was once the mansion’s living room.

I thought about my own church in Englewood, New Jersey. Ireland’s Sunday was a couple hours ahead of New Jersey’s Sunday, and soon my own Sunday school students would be running into their own classroom. Read more

A big sporting weekend, both at home and in Ireland

The talk in Ireland over the past few days has been about “the game.” It’s essentially the Super Bowl for Ireland — a rugby match between Ireland and Wales where Ireland has the chance to win the country’s first Grand Slam in 61 years.

The teams are playing in the Six Nations tournament, which includes England, Wales, Italy, France, Scotland and Ireland. A Grand Slam is beating every team in the tournament.

Dublin is buzzing about the game today, which pits undefeated Ireland against undefeated Wales. The hype over the game reminds me of another tournament going on right now in the U.S. that we are missing on this trip: the NCAA basketball championship, or March Madness.
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Could the end of the Celtic Tiger revitalize faith in Ireland?

At Mt. St. Joseph Abbey, the Reverend Nivard Kinsella said there was a general shift away from religion in Ireland. The shockwaves of this drift were acutely apparent at his monastery. When he entered the monastery decades ago, there were as many as 120 monks. Today there are 20, most of them elderly. Read more

Meet the President

John Byrne, 49, got a glimpse of Ireland’s third President Eamon de Valera when he was young boy.

“I remember seeing him appear in a vintage Rolls Royce.  That was exciting,” said Byrne.

That presidential sighting was trumped by today’s presidential encounter.  Byrne joined the journalism group on their date with President Mary McAleese.

The Dublin born tour bus driver was inside the Aras an Uachtarain – the residence of the President of Ireland.  Many times he had driven other tour groups to the estate, but this was his first time meeting the President.

“This is a big deal for me.  President McAleese is greatly admired,” said Byrne, especially about the President’s Belfast birthplace and gender.

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Walking tour on Burren mountains

We had a moment during our walking tour of the Burren Mountains in County Clare that made one student, Kirk Carapezza, remark, “Best day at the J-school by far.” A lot of us felt that way. Because after marveling at man’s glorious houses of worship, of intricately carved stone and massive painted windows, we were experiencing a burst of spirituality in the most unassuming of settings, a place so basic yet so magnificent. Ireland’s green land.

We were lying under a clear blue sky. On the warm grass. With a soft breeze. And an entire valley sprawled beyond our feet. John, our tour guide, said that people in medieval times saw the exact view that we were looking at. We closed our eyes and felt one with all those people, long buried under that earth. “I don’t want to get up” one person said when it was time to go. “I could stay here forever,” said another. Then a sigh. A smile and a nod. And we slowly dragged our body up from the earth.

Goodbye Raphael

No one really notices the chair when they walk into the Irish-Jewish Museum in Dublin.  The seat and back are made of weaved wood, and the chair is supported by lackluster metal legs.  It’s nondescript and probably belongs in the kitchen, but Alannah Nicphaidin thinks about it often.

“The thing that reminds me of Raph is the seat at the front,” said Nicphaidin.  The chair is in the narrow entranceway of the museum that Raphael Siev curated since 1985.  “He would always be sitting there when I came to visit the museum.”

Siev passed away this year on January 28th at the age of 73.  Nicphaidin was with him a couple days before he passed away.  Siev was a keynote speaker for the Holocaust Commemoration Day in the Mansion House.

“He collapsed before he was going to give his speech,” said Nicphaidin.  “I gave him my coat to rest his head.”

Despite feeling faint and having a bloody nose, Siev insisted on doing his part.

“You could say the gentleman was not for turning,” said Nicphaidin.  “That was Raph.”

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On the road: “How’s it goin’, from Cork to New York?”

DRIVING THROUGH LISDOONVARNA — Leaving Galway yesterday morning for Tipperary, we stopped to tour the Burren, a lunar like region of bare limestone, caves and hills north of Clare. En route, our bus driver and tour guide John Byrne treated us to another Irish folk song, “Lisdoonvarna” by Christy Moore. Read more

Bathing in the light with Galweggians

I’m typing and uploading this on a bus with WiFi.  We don’t have our flying cars yet, but we can play Bejewelled on the bus.  Neat.

I stayed in Galway yesterday when the team left for Roscrea.  Nominally, the idea was to get student reactions to religious conflict in the north of their country.  But I keep forgetting how distorted ’space’ is in this country.  The West might as well be Mars to people in Antrim (my classmates will have Burren photos that might back up that assessment).  When we were in Belfast, it was explained that a few hundred yards could mean the difference between danger and security for members of the respective battling sects.

So, after an utterly un-revealing talk with one of the chaplains at National University Ireland, Galway, and several students who all said the same, student-y thing (”oh, we couldn’t be bothered”), I wandered toward the city center, feeling generally depressed about my decision to stay and sensing that general deflated-ness that always invades a town after a big holiday bash.

But when I came off the river path into the park that abuts the bay, I had to laugh.  The day was sunny and very warm.  It seemed the entire city of Galway had turned out on the quays to dry out after the previous day’s sudsing.

The Irish simply don’t know full-on sun like that.  It was high comedy to watch people jostle each other for a patch of grass so they could work on reducing their pale.  Arms thrown wide, outstretched, people were physically welcoming the warmth.

I checked into my not-Hotel Meyrick and, while waiting six days for internet availability, I decided to pursue a tip Johnny B passed on before the group left.  A little flyer or tract issued by the Abundant Life Christian Center and the fact that these people do not answer their office phone got me curious what the group is all about.  I found out that they offer Wednesday night worship services, so I took a cab out to take a gander.

Located above a Vodafone retailer in the Irish version of a mini-mall, the congregation meets in a huge, high-ceilinged hall.  A four piece band was rehearsing poppy worship tunes as I came in to take the Unobtrusive Journalist Seat in the back of the hall.

As members of the congregation arrived, they uniformly came back to shake my hand and welcome me.  I didn’t see it, but there must have been a flashing red light somewhere indicating that there was a newbie in their midst.  I’ve never had that kind of greeting anywhere in the US.

But the bigger surprise was the “brogue” I was going to have to get past in this setting.  Pastor Kevin Sanford is a native Texan.  The “y’all”s came one after the next, and he spoke quickly with an elongated drawl emphasizing the end of sentences.  He referenced Greek and Hebrew, then dropped “cattywamp” in a sentence.  Preaching on the biblical book of Proverbs, Sanford said, “Nobody ‘kin do it like momma ‘kin do it.  Even Solomon knew that.”

Abundant Life is a Pentecostal ministry in Galway started in 1997 by Sanford and his wife, Heather.  This is their second such ministry; they were in Nicaragua for the five years preceding Galway.

“My wife said Ireland felt like a bigger culture shock than Nicaragua,” Sanford says.  “What we took for granted as mainline Christianity is very different from what is considered mainline [in Galway].”

“Where I’m from, Catholicism was always just one member of a wider, Christian community.”

“Here, obviously, it’s the big dog.”

Sanford manages to draw over 200 people to weekend services; he says he’s drawn on the faith and support of Galway’s newer African communities, though tonight the group is mostly college-age Irish kids.

As the band started a second worship song, the congregation raised its hands and began rocking back and forth.  Pastor Sanford invoked the Holy Spirit, and these young Galweggians started speaking in tongues and chattering amongst themselves.  Though the sun had now set on the day, these Irish people were still finding a way to welcome the light.

A prayer for reconciliation in Northern Ireland

In Ireland, one’s faith remains a defining characteristic and sectarian strife is part of the tragic history of the Irish people. Ireland has been partitioned since 1921 when the Government of Ireland Act established the Irish Free State, the predecessor of the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, which remains fully within the United Kingdom. Conflict between Protestants and Catholics and Unionists and Republicans have continued since then in Northern Ireland, although they largely ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreements. Still, the murders of two British soldiers on March 7 in Antrim and a policeman in Craigavon two days later by a radical fringe of Republicans indicate that all the troubles of the past are not completely healed. For some, the hatred remains raw. Read more

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