We Take More Than a Moment...To Remember Our Hibernians While We Remember All.

By Patrick S. Miller

9/24/2021

I do not have to tell any of you that we just honored the 20th anniversary of 9/11.  It remains a painful time for the family and friends of the 2,996 innocent victims.  We all continue to share the burden of grief, anger, and loss.  A loss none of us will ever fully get over and, frankly, I do not think we really should.  

Tomorrow, 9/25/2021, our American-Irish community, in reverence to all, has arranged an 11AM Mass at Saint Peter’s Roman Catholic Church (22 Barclay Street, Ny, NY) to specifically pray for and honor our 18 brother and sister Hibernians who were killed on that infamous day.  A plaque will also be installed to celebrate the lives of these fine men and women for generations to come.

It is an incredible thing to consider that they got up that morning, as they had all done so many times, to serve the greater New York/New Jersey community.  This does not surprise you or me.  Being a first-responder is a common calling with our people.  The past 150 years has seen our numbers grow tremendously in the US, especially in the NY/NJ area.  In that period there have been times when the majority of the members of the various first-responding agencies were of Irish & American-Irish descent.   Wanting to make the world a better place is what we value...our parents wrote it on the walls of our hearts as their parents did.  As Hibernians, yet another calling to serve others, we understand this well.

There is no question that we are proud of them, their service, and their sacrifice.  We will mourn their loss until we meet them again in eternity.  Please join me in reciting their names:

Maurice V. Barry, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

Liam Callahan, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

Dennis Devlin, AOH Orange County, New York.

Kevin C. Dowdell, AOH Queens County, New York.

Sean B. Fegan, AOH Rockland County, New York.

Richard Fitzsimons, AOH Nassua County, New York.

Thomas E. Gorman, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

Florence M. Gregory, LAOH Kings County, New York.

Charles Houston, AOH Kings County, New York.

Steven Huczko, AOH Hudson County, New York.

Donald J. McIntyre, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

Peter Milano, AOH Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Richard Muldowney, Jr., AOH Suffolk County, New York.

Jim Nelson, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

Gerard T. Nevins, AOH Orange County, New York.

Bruce Reynolds, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

Arthur Warren Scullin, AOH Queens County, New York.

Mike Wholey, AOH Hudson County, New Jersey.

~May their souls be on the right hand of God~