White Doves were released as retired firefighter Danny Manning, FDNY Ladder 43, Spanish Harlem took to the podium to deliver one of the concluding addresses to an audience of over two hundred who gathered at the Ringfinnan 9/11 Garden of Remembrance, Kinsale on Wednesday, 11th September.
At 7 p.m. (Irish Time) while New York remembered, a solemn tribute occurred at a Garden overlooking Kinsale, a place of serene tranquillity and peace.
For those readers who are unfamiliar with the 9/11 Garden of Remembrance it is a grove of 343 trees dedicated to each of the fallen firefighters of the FDNY, founded by Kathleen Murphy, a nurse at Lennox Hill Hospital on that fateful day.
In her infinite wisdom she instinctively knew that her homeland could provide a space necessary for healing and peace. Since the Garden’s inception its impact has been immense.
Tributes lay at the foot of each of the trees, left lovingly by visiting relatives and friends, a name plate is attached to each white stake for each of the 343, this Garden is a living memorial. In keeping with the motto “Never Forget,” it is hard to not forget.
One is greeted by the faces of the 343, recently donated and installed by the Kinsale Fire Station, just inside the entrance gate. Its location allows for quiet reflection with panoramic views of the rolling hills and fields, a world away from glass, steel and concrete of the high-rise cities.
Life in rural Ireland is simple, this simplicity makes this Garden and any event there ever the more poignant.
John Murphy, nephew of Kathleen Murphy, speaking about his aunt’s vision and purpose of the 9/11 Garden.
This year, the Garden was also the backdrop for the culmination of a charity cycle by the FDNY in aid of Friends of Firefighters NY and an Irish Children’s Cancer Society- Aoibheann’s Pink Tie.
On Sunday 8th September, the FDNY firefighters and their Irish counterparts together with the organisers and invited dignitaries gathered at the United States Ambassador's Residence in Dublin for a reception. The next day the charity cycle departed Dublin to conclude at the 9/11 Garden of Remembrance, Kinsale.
Through three days of cycling in beautiful scenery, the multiple changes in the Irish weather, the land of the Céad Míle Fáilte did not disappoint. Locals and individual Fire Stations came out to support and provide refreshments for the cyclists along the route.
Each stop along the way became more memorable than the last. As the sirens blazed and hooted, the cyclists reached the Garden of Remembrance in the evening of 9/11.
In what became a ceremony at dusk and sundown, they climbed the final narrow hill to the entrance of the Garden. Nothing could prepare them for the welcome and the place that awaited them.
As they approached the Garden, the words “Never Forget” greeted them on the entrance gate.
Rows of avenue lined trees, American flags, 343 white stakes provided a breathtaking sight. They were welcomed with a guard of honor provided by members of the Irish first responders, An Garda Síochána, and the defence forces, together with some veterans from American armed forces who now reside in Ireland.
If their arrival was emotive, then events in the garden were equally moving. Heartfelt tributes expressed by many of the speakers underpinned the message that this garden, though thousands of miles from Ground Zero, stood in solidarity not only with the fallen 343, but with all in the USA who have a connection through family and friends with the events on that fateful day.
Above all, it provides solace and reflection. Councillor Gillian Coughlan, deputising for the Mayor of the County of Cork, was reflective in her remarks. Those involved in the charity cycle thanked all concerned and remembered the fallen.
John Murphy, nephew of Kathleen, who currently oversees the Garden, spoke movingly. Jeremiah Aherne, retired Cork City firefighter and a keeper of the Garden, recited a poem inspired by the events of 9/11. Aherne together with the local fire station in Kinsale, led by David O’Donovan, did an amazing job in upgrading the garden and ensuring each tree had a new USA flag for the event.
Wreaths were solemnly laid at the 343 monument, located at the end of the garden which opens to a vista from a precipice across to Kinsale town and the County Cork countryside. Salutes were given by the veterans as a wreath laying ceremony was performed by Danny Manning and David O’Donovan, Kinsale Fire Station followed by a blessing of the wreaths. Music interrupted the ceremony at certain points, indicating very clearly that this event was taking place in the Emerald Isle.
A moment of silence was observed, and a hush descended on the Garden with the surrounding sounds of nature being all that was audible. The local Comhaltas Music Group serenaded the gathering crowds.
A piper brought a note of solemnity while the national anthems of both countries rang out towards the end. It was a gathering of all ages. Part of the ceremony acknowledged the “Survivor Tree Sapling,” planted in the Garden the previous day together with the unveiling of its commemorative plaque.
The sapling travelled under escort from Dublin to Kinsale, while a local tradesman created a wonderful wooden barrier to protect this Survivor Tree from the elements. Having a little piece of Survivor Tree in this Garden of Remembrance binds the Garden and Ground Zero in a living memorial to the fallen and to all those that have since passed due to related illnesses from 9/11.
As Danny Manning stated: “We have a saying in the FDNY of “Never Forget”. The people here in Kinsale, Ireland have shown that they too have not forgotten our fallen 343 and the many who continue to fall from their 9/11 related illnesses. What most people may be unaware of is that the number has now surpassed the 343 and is currently at 371 and sadly continues to grow.
All of us here from the FDNY will agree that if we could not be in NYC commemorating this sacred day today there is no other place we should be than here in this Garden of Remembrance in Kinsale. Our heartfelt thanks to you all for coming here today to be with us.”
As Danny concluded, the white doves previously released circled back across the Garden and as Kinsale honored the fallen they flew away. Kinsale has a special connection with 9/11 due to Kathleen Murphy’s dream and her special bond with Fr. Mychal Judge, chaplain of the FDNY. Also, in the town of Kinsale, the Frawley Family of the White House Hotel consistently honor the memory of the fallen in their Hall of Heroes where various memorabilia and tokens donated by many FDNY with Irish heritage are donated and preserved.
The Frawley Family have now extended their Hall of Heroes to include a 9/11 Wall of Remembrance where those returnees can leave their individual tributes. Danny Manning and Kinsale Station Officer,David O’Donovan cut the red ribbon and were the first to write their tributes on the new Wall. Danny also recalled how each year he attends the sundown ceremony at Ground Zero with the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.
This year he told me that he would usually be there; however, he said the members of the Pipes and Drums are here in spirit in Ireland also. The tradition of the sundown ceremony is something very dear to the hearts of those in the band. They too also visited the Garden in August 2023, and many were very visibly moved on their first visit to the Garden.
Locals later reflected on proceedings at the Garden. Songwriter, Dave McGilton summed up his experience as echoing “the words of WWI poet, Rupert Brooke, there is some corner in a foreign field that is forever New York City and with every year that passes, the ties that bound Ireland to America at one of her times of greatest sorrow, grow ever stronger while the roots of the Garden’s trees grow deeper and wider and serve as a living reminder that what once united us in grief now connects us all in life.
Another local commented “every year is a chance for those of us on this side of the Atlantic to show our respect and gratitude for the fallen." David from Kinsale Fire Station noted that “the 343 are still with us in the Garden, you’d get the feeling when you walk in that this is a calm place for the families of the fallen."
Kathleen Murphy’s legacy continues to provide a place of solace, thanks to the efforts of both the people of Kinsale and by many in New York.
Those affected by the events of 9/11 can now find peace in a visit to the Ringfinnan 9/11 Garden of Remembrance, where they can stand still and just be in the moment, as the white doves fly.
Michelle O’Mahony is a History Consultant
