Bishop salutes Irish Welfare in
Birmingham
By Brendan Farrell
Bishop of Derry Dr Seamus Hegarty and the Rev Alan Hilliard the director
of the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants paid a visit to Birmingham
to see at close hand the work of the Birmingham Irish Welfare and Information
Centre.
In addition to visiting Irish Welfare’s main units at St Eugene’s
Court and Birmingham Irish Club the party also dropped in at one of the
centre’s three main outreach service units based at St. Francis
Church in Handsworth.
During the visit the Bishop met with residents and staff of the Irish
Welfare’s offices and service units before handing over a cheque
for £50,000 to Bridie Nugent from Birmingham Irish Welfare.
The money will go towards funding the three main outreach and pastoral
centres over the next two years.
In his speech Bishop Hegarty referred to the wonderful work being carried
out by Irish Welfare and paid tribute to the late Fr Joe Taaffe —
who dedicated so much of his 17 years in Birmingham towards the welfare
of the city’s Irish community.
He said: “The Bishops Emigrants Commission is now in a position
to support the project here to the tune of £50,000 over the next
two years and this amount will go far to strengthen the outreach services
to elderly Irish people in their homes.
“Your project here is battling against their isolation and at the
same time it helps address their vital needs.”
Dr Hegarty also acknowledged the increased funding from the Irish Government’s
Department of Foreign Affairs for services to Irish emigrants.
At the conclusion of his visit to Birmingham the party paid a visit to
St Mary’s Convent in Handsworth — established by Dublin-born
nun Sister Catherine McAuley in 1841.
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