The Ancient Order of Hibernians will join with Gaelic Societies, Irish community groups and parishioners in the strongly Irish Woodlawn/McLean area of the Bronx and Yonkers to host its seventh annual Irish language Mass at St. Barnabas on Sunday, September 15 at 2:30 p.m.
This year the Mass, celebrated in Gaelic by Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald, will include special prayers for Patrick Gallagher and for all Irish men and women who gave their lives while serving in America’s armed forces.
This dedication, made with permission of the Gallagher family, was inspired by the words of Patrick Gallagher’s sister Pauline, who said the recently christened U.S. Navy ship named for her brother “would sail for all of the Irish who died in the service of the United States.”
The Mass, according to a release, will be featured as a national AOH event, attended by several national and New York State AOH officers and watched across the United States and in Ireland via the St. Barnabas Facebook and AOH YouTube. Irish-English translations of the liturgy will be made available so that anyone can follow the prayers in English as they hear the Mass said in Irish.
A special musical program will be provided by the Dawn Doherty Academy of Irish music. Readers will include Irish Deputy Consul General in New York Gareth Hargadon, Marjorie Greenan of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and members of the Pearl River Irish Language Group.
The St. Barnabas Facebook Page is at https://www.facebook.com/stbarnabascatholicchurch. The AOH YOUTUBE link is at https://aoh.com/IrishMass.
Added the release: "Each year the Bronx County Irish Language Mass at St. Barnabas is dedicated to all those who have kept the Irish language and culture alive. To symbolize this theme, the AOH flyer depicts a Mass Rock where Gaelic speakers gathered in secret to hear outlawed Masses said by outlawed priests in defiance of English penal laws.
"This year with the permission of the family of Patrick Gallagher, the Mass will be said for him and all Irish men and women who gave their lives while serving in America's Armed Forces. Corporal Patrick “Bob” Gallagher was born in County Mayo.
"Patrick Gallagher was a US Marine who served in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in Vietnam. In July 1966 during a battle, he kicked away one grenade and jumped on a second grenade saving the lives of three fellow Marines. He was awarded the Navy Cross for valor. On March 30, 1967, Corporal Gallagher was killed on patrol in Da Nang, Vietnam. Several weeks ago, the US Navy commissioned the USS Patrick Gallagher.
"Hibernians were moved by the words of his sister Pauline and believe it is fitting that we remember Patrick Gallagher and all of the Irish men and women who gave their lives while serving in America’s Armed Forces, to defend the freedom they found in the United States.
"Patrick Gallagher is part of a tradition that goes back to the very beginning of the United States. British Lord Mountjoy reacted to Washington’s victory at Yorktown by crying out 'we have lost America through the Irish.' Irish men and women have served bravely in every conflict which followed."
The Mass will be held in the St. Barnabas Main Church, on Martha Avenue at East 241st Street near the Bronx River Parkway, Deegan Expressway or Metro-North Railroad. Everyone welcome. After the Mass the AOH is inviting attendees to the Heritage Restaurant, 960 McLean Avenue, across the street from St. Barnabas.
