February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Irish Community Mass was held Tuesday evening, Sept. 10, at Holy Trinity Church in Manhattan. Hundreds attended to remember those who never emerged from the Twin Towers.
Msgr. Thomas Leonard said it was his hope that the memorial would in a quiet way help people like Anne Gorman, whose husband, Kieran, who was killed in the attacks.
The remains of the 35-year-old from Sligo were discovered last March. He had been working as a laborer for the Structuretone building company on one of the upper floors of the World Trade Center.
In addition to his widow, he was survived by sons Barry, 4, Gavin, 2, and baby Kieran, who was born a few weeks after his father’s death.
“This week there are many large ceremonies marking the loss of loved ones, but this service I hope may help those still grieving to release any bitterness they may feel,” Leonard told the gathering.
He said he had lost four parishioners, none of whose remains were found.
Holy Trinity was turned into a distribution center in the days after Sept. 11. Volunteers emptied 10 18-wheel semis full of water, blankets and even dog food to help those displaced from Lower Manhattan because of the attacks.
A brief incident during the Mass took place on the steps outside the church. As several members of the Northern Ireland Police Service, in full dress uniform, were about to enter, a lone man said they were not wanted inside for the ceremony. Following a few moments of discussion, they entered for the service.
Irish Consulate and church officials, organizers of the service, both said they had nothing to do with the incident, and that it was one individual expressing his opinion.
Irish tenor Ronan Tynan sang “Panus Angelicus” and “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears,” the same song he sang at an interfaith ceremony at Yankee Stadium for friends and relatives of the victims days after the attacks.