Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: John Joe Conneely Market St., (Anniv).
11.00: Mary Mullin (Month's Mind) and Tom Tierney, (Anniv).
6.30: Ellen Reynolds, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

On Tuesday next, Imam Ibrahim from the Galway Islamic Foundation will contribute to our Lenten Sessions in the Augustinian. This will be a golden opportunity for us to learn more about the Islamic faith, the 'Faith of Abraham'. More important still, it will be an opportunity for us to meet with members of that faith. Then we will learn that Moslems don't actually grow horns!

This is a terrible time for Moslems. We Irish should appreciate their present predicament. Remember what it was like for the Irish in London, Birmingham and Manchester in the 1970s? As the IRA bombs went off with many fatalities, the understandable fury of some of the British people was directed against the Irish in their midst.

However, when that fury contaminated the Police Force, the entire institution of British justice was corrupted. Innocent people like 'The Birmingham Six' and 'The Guilford Four' paid the price.

The Moslems in the west today are in a somewhat similar situation. Through thoughtless ignorance, we are often inclined to equate all members of the Islamic faith with the few dangerous fanatics in their midst. 'All Moslems are terrorists' or 'All Moslems support terrorism, at least tacitly', is as ludicrous as to say, 'All Irish people support the IRA.' This is lazy thinking, but it is also dangerous thinking.

You will recall that The Pope's Regensburg lecture caused such a great stir around the world. The violent reaction to it was no doubt stirred up by extremists. Unfortunately, the actions of the minority extremists will always hit the headlines, drowning out the moderate voice of the vast majority. Because thirty-eight distinguished Moslem leaders sent an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 12, 2006 in which they welcomed his call for open dialogue. It never made its way to the national newspapers because peace and moderation is not news!

This calm, learned letter disappeared beneath the fanatics' clamour for revenge! The signatories addressed the Pope in the following terms:

Holy Father, Christianity and Islam together they make up more than 50% of the world's population, making our relationship the most important factor in contributing to peace around the world. As the leader of over a billion Catholics, and moral example for many others around the globe, yours is arguably the single most influential voice in continuing to move this relationship forward in the direction of mutual understanding. We share your desire for frank and sincere dialogue, and recognize its importance in an increasingly interconnected world. Upon this sincere and frank dialogue we hope to continue to build peaceful and friendly relationships, based upon mutual respect and justice. We already have in common our Abrahamic tradition, particularly 'the two greatest commandments' of the gospels, 'The Love of God and the Love of Neighbour'.

This is the authentic voice of Islam. We look forward to hearing Imam Ibrahim confirm this on Tuesday. It promises to be an interesting evening. Don't miss it!

-Dick Lyng

Items of Some Interest

Our (Altered) Lenten Programme

Our Lenten Sessions with the parishioners of St. Nicholas' Parish began on Tuesday last and it will continue on Tuesday next. We had a lively session and, despite the weather, twenty-two people attended.

As noted above, the Imam from the Moslem community will contribute to our discussion on Tuesday next. (And on the following week, Tuesday March 13th, the Reverend Yuri Rochev from the Russian Orthodox Church will address us on Lenten practices in the Orthodox tradition). But, on Tuesday night next, the Imam will speak on 'The Role of Fasting in the Moslem Tradition.'

We will also have a short discussion on 'The Development of the Holy Thursday Ceremonies in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Traditions'. However, the original programme remains more or less intact, as you will see:

The Late Murtagh Rabbitt

With the death of Murtagh Rabbitt on Tuesday last, a chapter in Galway's social history closed. Under Murty's genial stewardship, Rabbitt's pub became a crossroads down through the years for city and rural people. The fact that it was so close to the Railway Station helped, of course!

As Jack Mulveen wrote some fifteen years ago, 'If the walls of Rabbitt's Pub could speak, they would tell tales of all manner of things, of the famine, the California Gold Rush, the Spanish Civil War, of music and dancing and matches made.'

Murtagh's pedigree goes back a long way. His grandfather, Charles Rabbitt returned to Galway in the 1850s, fresh from the Californian Gold Rush. He set up a flour and meal trade in Quay Street, which fire destroyed. Undaunted, he established a bar-and-grocery shop in Forster Street. The cobbled yard where as many as twenty horse and carts might be parked while the women shopped inside for groceries and the men went downtown on business is unchanged, and on sunny days customers are welcome to sit in seclusion for a drink and a chat. Today, unredeemed smokers are still to be found availing of the facilities.

Murtagh's father, Peter, took over the business in 1896. He served on the Urban Council and he helped establish St. Patrick's Brass Band which his namesake and grandson directs today. In 1945, Murtagh's turn came after the death of his father. As Pat Whelan remarked during his homily, 'Murty heard confessions and dispensed advice sagely.' However, when it came to matters political, 'he preferred to give direction rather than advice'!

Murty was a founder-member and President for many years of the Licensed Vintners' Association. Until his debilitating illness he derived great pleasure from his golf. He got a lot of satisfaction from the continuity of Rabbitt's 140 years in Forster Street.

Murtagh was a valued member of the Forthill Committee. His parents and grandparents lie buried there. His funeral Mass, in St. Patrick's Church, was a fitting celebration of his fruitful life. A choir, drawn from the Galway Choral Association, St. Patrick's Brass Band and the Corelli Quartet gave him a most dignified, uplifting send-off. He is survived by his wife Maeve, his sons Peter, John, Brian, Michael and Niall, grandchildren, and his extended family. RIP

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