03.03.2022
‘We stand with the people of Ukraine’ – Vigil for Peace in St Patrick’s Cathedral
Books of Peace available to sign in the cathedral.
“There is no argument, no justification for Russia’s actions against Ukraine. None,” the Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland stated at a Vigil for Peace held in St Patrick’s Cathedral yesterday evening (March 2, Ash Wednesday).
Expressing the solidarity of the people of Dublin with the people of Ukraine, the Lord Mayor said: “The outpouring of support in Dublin, across Ireland and across Europe for Ukraine epitomises our shared values and respect for the democratic right of peoples to self–determination and our rejection of actions that trample these democratic principles by which we all live and by which we all want to live.”
The moving Vigil and the preceding Choral Evensong, sung in plainsong by the Lay Vicars Choral, was led by Dean William Morton who welcomed “all who come with peace in their hearts to join in prayer for peace in Ukraine”. He and Canon Charles Mullen led prayers for peace. The service was attended by Archbishop Michael Jackson and local and national elected representatives. Also present were Ambassadors and representatives of the Diplomatic Corps including Poland, Moldova, Denmark, Britain, Bulgaria and Lithuania as well as people from Ukraine.
In her address, the Lord Mayor said that since last Thursday’s incursion many people felt sickened, numb, shaken and helpless. She thanked the Dean and Canon Mullen for offering the Evensong and Vigil which gave space for people to come together to share their sorrow and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine against Russian aggression.
She said many Ukrainians had made Dublin their home and she welcomed them to the cathedral. “I recognise that you are so very closely living the hour by hour attacks being perpetrated against your home country. We are with you and we are here for you,” she said.
She also recognised that many Russians had made Dublin their home. “I welcome you here today as you show your rejection of your homeland’s action against your neighbour. I also very much recognise your like–minded fellow countrypeople who have protested across Russia against these actions,” she stated.
Describing Ukraine as a proud resilient and compassionate nation, the Lord Mayor said she could not begin to imagine the horror, the fear, the trauma that the people in Ukraine are currently experiencing, the wanton destruction and killing that they are suffering, the impossible heart breaking decisions they are being forced to make. She also spoke of the valiant decisions that Ukrainians here and across the world are making to return home defend their country.
“The war crimes being perpetuated against Ukraine defy everything we believe in. We ask ourselves how, in Europe in 2022, one nation can take such unilateral, violent destructive action against another democratic state. How can one neighbour attack and kill the citizens of another?,” she asked.
There was a retiring collection for the Irish Red Cross which is supporting work to aid those displaced by the war in Ukraine. Books of Peace are available for people to sign in the cathedral.
You can watch the service online here.
