The morning of Wednesday, 4th June saw our children and staff welcome a most special lady and visitor to St Mary’s - Mrs Bridie Duffy, Volunteer with Trócaire.
It was simply an honour and privilege to welcome Bridie to our assembled whole-school gathering and to share in her words of insight, education, experience and inspiration, as she spoke about the organisation, mission and work of Trócaire; her own fourteen years of voluntary work, locally and internationally; and graciously accept the proceeds of our recent Lenten/Easter Trócaire Fundraising Draw - £1,485.00 and €20.00 - on behalf of Trócaire.
As Bridie reminded us of the origins and founding of Trócaire and its name - directly translating to ‘compassion’ or ‘mercy’ in the Irish language - it is very true to say that many of our children and school staff were inspired and uplifted by her words, presence, humour and time spent with us. Her comprehensive presentation spoke of Trócaire’s great work around the world - work to end global poverty and injustice, putting the compassion of the Irish people into action, all the while supporting communities in the developing world to achieve a just and sustainable future. It was most humbling and uplifting to realise that the monies raised from our school community will help people living in the world’s poorest regions, in one of the sixteen countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East whose communities Trócaire supports, to bring about lasting change. We remember the people of Gaza in a special way, at this time.
It was particularly important for our children to listen to and learn directly from Bridie in relation to her own volunteering work and experiences, too, and she generously took the time to share with us many of those experiences, including her work with the children and people of Odisha in India, and her work more locally here in Co. Fermanagh. Perhaps, one inspirational fact about the children of Odisha that she shared, will resonate and stay with us, particularly; that, in spite of the great poverty, lack of education and basic human rights that many of Odisha’s children experience and endure daily, they are full of joy and hope for the future, and their smiling faces convey that sense of hope, each day. May we all be blessed to know and live with hope in each of our own lives. In this Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, we are reminded of dear late Pope Francis’ words that ‘hope is a gift from God and a task that must be cultivated by all Christians’. We recall, also, our own dear Bishop Martin Hayes’ compelling and profound words to our precious Primary Seven students on your Confirmation Day on the power of hope and the ways we can all bring hope into the lives of others, and his call and words of encouragement to be young people of hope and generosity.
We extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Bridie for her inspiring work, friendship and presence amongst us, and to her colleagues in Trócaire, including Mark and Roisin.
Once again, we pay tribute to our children, staff, parents, grandparents, families and wider school community, for your wonderful generosity, compassion and selfless giving and thinking of others. May we always be voices and people of hope and justice, most especially for the most vulnerable people in our world, today.
