The Bishop of Derry Dr Seamus Hegarty has urged the new Irish
government to do its best to help elderly members of the Irish Diaspora
all over the world.
Bishop Hegarty, chairperson of the Irish Catholic Bishop's Council
for emigrants, urged the new government to particularly look after
elderly Irish people living in Britain who may have fallen on hard
times.
Bishop Hegarty made his call in a week when the Irish Chaplaincy
in Britain revealed that that over the past three years, over 1,000
Irish emigrants have been buried in unmarked plots in London.
He said, “For a multitude of reasons some Irish emigrants still find
themselves isolated, vulnerable and alone. We must continue to support
the elderly members of the Irish emigrant community in Britain and
elsewhere.”
“Earlier this year we learned that some Irish people were still been
buried in communal plots in London without loved ones to comfort them at
the time of their passing or to care for their remains. I gratefully
acknowledge the work of the Irish chaplaincy in Britain in highlighting
this issue and their ongoing work and the work of other organisations in
reaching out to the elderly Irish community.”
Bishop Hegarty also revealed that the plight of the Irish economy was
constantly in his daily prayers and he hoped that, “many Irish young
people who have been forced to join the haemorrhage of emigration from
Ireland' might soon be able to return to the country and find work.”