F E AT U R E
Fr Gerry McFlynn
ANSWERING THE CALL OF SERVICE: THE IRISH CHAPLAINCY AT 65
WHILE THE NEEDS OF IMMIGRANTS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE DECADES, THE IRISH CHAPLAINCY LONDON STILL HAS A VITAL ROLE TO PLAY IN SUPPORTING VULNERABLE AND MARGINALISED PEOPLE IN BRITAIN
Fr Gerry McFlynn
BY FR GERRY McFLYNN
T
his year, the Irish Chaplaincy celebrates its 65th birthday. Set up by the Irish bishops as the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy in a very different social, political and cultural climate, it continues today to provide an outreach service to some of the most vulnerable Irish people in Britain. Since 1957, successive teams of priests, religious and lay people have worked tirelessly to live the challenge of the Gospel – walking alongside and being a voice for the thousands of emigrants who left Ireland in search for a better life in Britain. The story of their labours, and the problems and prejudices they experienced, are well documented in Patricia Kennedy’s excellent social history Welcoming the Stranger: Irish Migrant Welfare in Britain since 1957 (Irish Academic Press, 2015). The rollcall of these dedicated people, throughout the decades, is a long one and it would be unfair to single out individuals. Suffice it to say that the continued success of the chaplaincy owes everything to the pioneering work of these people at a time when it was anything but ‘cool’ to be Irish in Britain.
three main groups: prisoners, Travellers and elderly Irish people. Of these, the prisoners’ project is the oldest, dating back to 1985. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, some members of the chaplaincy were concerned about the problems facing Irish prisoners in England and Wales, particularly in relation to their families at home in Ireland. As a result of this concern, the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas (ICPO) was set up in
a Traveller background, it works closely with the Traveller Equality Project. This project has done sterling work in recent years in bringing Traveller issues to the attention of the Prison Service. Travellers have a very difficult time in prison. Most Travellers are used to living outside in the open which makes the confinement of imprisonment particularly difficult to cope with. In addition, many of them have learning difficulties which can cause added obstacles when dealing with a system that runs on paper. The ICPO’s work is greatly appreciated not only by the prisoners themselves and their families but also by a wide range of caring agencies. At our 25th anniversary celebrations, President McAleese had this to say about our work: “Over the past 25 years, as many people turned away from prisoners and washed their hands of them, it was your unexpected and reliable hand of friendship which let them know that they had an innate dignity that no system could overwhelm and no act of their own could obliterate.”
Many of these people, who came to England in the 1950s and 60s in search of employment and a better life, today lead lives of quiet desperation, living alone, often without the social benefits to which they are entitled.
OUTREACH When I joined the chaplaincy team in the early 1990s, there were some ten diocesan priests working in the London area alone in places like Camden, Hammersmith and Lewisham. Today, the chaplaincy provides an outreach service to 26 REALITY MARCH 2022
1985, with former Irish President Mary McAleese one of its founding members. Today, there are around 1,200 Irish nationals in custody worldwide with the majority (some 950-plus) in England and Wales, where they constitute one of the largest ethnic groups. Indeed, there is scarcely a prison in England and Wales which doesn’t have an Irish prisoner! The ICPO – now known as the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas – is based in north London. It has a full-time London prison visitor/ caseworker, a full-time caseworker, a manager and an administrative assistant. With more than 40 per cent of Irish prisoners coming from
CHANGING NEEDS Another project of the chaplaincy is the Older Persons Project which provides a visiting and support service to the many housebound elderly Irish living in the London area. At the last national census in 2011, it was estimated that
