Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to support the Order of Business. Today, I do not want to ask anything of the Deputy Leader; I just want to share some thoughts. Earlier at 10 a.m., people of different traditions and faiths gathered in the heart of Leinster House to join in communion in the celebration of a Catholic mass. It also happens to be Ash Wednesday today. It was a great honour and a privilege to be invited and to participate in the mass. It was important to me on a personal level to attend. I know it was very important to the participants. There were Senators, Deputies and members of the parliamentary family and community at the mass. It was a very strong and powerful act of solidarity. It showed very much our own communion with each other. The mass was led by a Dominican priest, who spoke very movingly and with a great sense of humour. We said prayers for the people of Ukraine and Russia, and indeed, for the leadership of these countries. There are many innocent people in Russia, as there are in Ukraine. The mass was an important show of solidarity here. It represented to me our diversity and our respect for that diversity. Long may that continue. Long may that respect and inclusivity remain at the very heart of this Parliament. I wish to share that thought with the Members.

Over the past few days, I attended Westminster as part of the delegation to attend the meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. I connected with an Anglican community at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields at the heart of Trafalgar Square. A special ecumenical service was held there for the Ukrainian people. Indeed, it was broadcast on the BBC. It was so full that you could not get into the building or out onto the square. At the end of the service, the vicar asked that people would leave the church and go onto the square to show solidarity. So much of people's faith, tradition and heritage can sometimes be locked behind doors. I wondered how many people would come out of the church. The entire congregation came out onto Trafalgar Square. During the three-minute silence, no words were spoken. There was a sense of empathy and being in communion with each other. I thought that was important. As I left, I visited the Irish community in the crypt of the church. I came across a sign that read: "No matter who, no matter what, we are here to provide opportunity, sanctuary and support for everyone." I will finish by highlighting the enormous work that community did for the Irish people who went there in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and for the many Irish people who are homeless in London. They are a displaced people. Of course, we will empathise with, and be supportive of, the displaced people in the heart of Europe. We have had our own experience of people being displaced from the island of Ireland. I want us to be mindful of our own history and of displaced people in Europe and Ireland. Let us not forget that there are Irish people displaced in many parts of the world. Let us use our political contacts to highlight and support their needs.