REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND MARY McALEESE AT ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND MARY McALEESE AT ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER, 2003
I would like to thank Bishop Ambrose for his kind words of welcome. I am honoured to have this opportunity to speak from the altar today, in the presence of Bishop Ambrose and the Faith Leaders of Tyneside.
I am struck in coming here today by how much this is a Cathedral at the heart of its community. Just now, Bishop Ambrose kindly guided me round the Cardinal Hume Memorial Garden. Standing opposite the Central Station, the statue of the late and beloved Cardinal faces the emerging rail travellers and the on-coming traffic. On a hectic day, the statue stands like a beacon above the crowds, the noise, the bustle of a modern city centre, drawing the people of Tyneside to him, inviting them to take a quiet moment in the garden to rest or to meditate or to pray.
The garden is filled with reminders of the Cardinal’s close associations with Northumberland. In one hand he holds his pectoral cross and gestures with the other to the nearby shape of Lindisfarne. His was a remarkable life and it was firmly rooted in his faith and in his love and reverence for Northumbria and its saints. His gentle demeanour told of a heart full of compassion and pity for ordinary people and, particularly, those who found themselves in difficult circumstances. It is particularly appropriate that the memorial to him should be so close to the beating heart of his native city and in a cathedral built by the Catholic people of Tyneside at a time when they were very poor but very determined. It is hard to credit that despite their great poverty they raised the equivalent of a million pounds mostly through halfpenny collections and I take some pride in the fact that it is very likely that the Irish population, beginning to arrive on Tyneside in significant numbers at that time, were major contributors.
The Irish have been linked with religion on Tyneside since the time of St. Aidan, founder of Lindisfarne monastery in 635 AD. This was to be the cradle of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England, a modest achievement for the first Irishman recorded in the region. Cardinal Hume spoke of Aidan as the embodiment of an important pastoral principle – the need to start where people are and to lead them then gently in a direction they would never have dreamed possible. The dream of the Cathedral started with the few halfpennies people could spare, and led, through faith, to the glorious building we are privileged to sit in today. St. Aidan’s lessons thrive on Tyneside still.
The greatest modern movement of people from Ireland to Tyneside was in the 1840’s during and after the tragedy of the Great Hunger. They settled all over Northumbria and Durham, taking part in the major local industries of coal mining and ship building. The culture they brought with them put out new shoots and began to grow in new ways in this rich soil, under the influence of the native music of Northumbria. New songs and tunes from the Irish on Tyneside found their way into the Irish traditional canon. A new distinct, vibrant identity evolved– that of the Tyneside Irish – an identity that was put to the test when war broke out in 1914 and Lord Kitchener appealed for volunteers.
Meeting at the Newcastle Guild Hall, a local group of Irish businessmen proposed to raise a battalion of 1100 men from among the Irish. Four battalions of Northumberland Fusiliers were formed, to be known as the Tyneside Irish Brigade participating in the terrible battle at the Somme. The brigade’s Catholic chaplain, Fr McBrearty travelled with the men throughout the war and, on his return to the Cathedral, oversaw the laying up of the colours of the 25th battalion. His heart filled with memories of bravery and pain, Fr McBrearty made sure their memory would never fade on Tyneside.
Raw memory heals and becomes history. The Colours of the 27th battalion were granted a special place in this Cathedral and re-dedicated in 2001. John Sheen was at the heart of the occasion. His scholarship revived the memory of the Tyneside Irish so that it is now embraced and retold as part of the contribution of the Irish to Tyneside. It is a sombre story, one told in awe. I am glad to have the opportunity to honour it and to unveil a commemorative plaque.
The world has changed for us in Europe since those darker days. While we look back with sadness and respect at the valour and bravery of so many, we hope that people will not again be called on in this way. The world has also changed for us in the Church. Services in the vernacular, ecumenical dialogue, increased involvement of lay people. This Cathedral has, I know, undergone some significant physical changes in recent years, including the glorious refurbishment of the new annexe in Pugin’s preferred colours which I look forward to visiting in a moment. The Cathedral’s position as a spiritual home, a centre of community will, Please God, grow in the coming years, transcending the inevitable ebb and flood tides of life and belief. Each generation faces its own Gethsemane.
Cardinal Hume faced his in faith. I was privileged to talk to him by phone shortly before his death and I was heartened by his steady acceptance, his simple preparedness for life after death. Making sense of life and making sense of death is the central message this cathedral places at the heart of community. May it long be a source of comfort and inspiration to the people of this city.
Thank you.