McGuinness praised in New York as man of peace
Martin McGuinness was “a man of history, a man of destiny, a man of peace”, according to Msgr Robert Ritchie, who celebrated the late Deputy First Minister’s month’s mind Mass on Monday in St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York.
Delivering a eulogy at the service, in which prayers were offered for the souls of the 1916 leaders and others, former Senator George Mitchell said Mr McGuinness’s leadership had been a “major factor” in “the peace that endures today”, and that through his life he had been “strengthened by his family and his Faith”.
Plan to make St Patrick’s Day a UK holiday
St Patrick’s Day should be a national holiday in the UK, the leader of the British Labour Party has said.
In a proposal ahead of the UK’s general election on June 8, Jeremy Corbyn has proposed that the entire UK should have four new bank holidays, these being on the patron saints’ days of the UK’s four constituent parts.
This would mean that St Patrick’s Day would join St David’s Day (March 1), St George’s Day (April 23) and St Andrew’s Day (November 30), as UK-wide holidays intended to draw together England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Belfast’s oldest church closed for repairs
The oldest Catholic church in Belfast is to be closed for three weeks in the summer for renovation work in excess of £300,000.
St Mary’s, in Chapel Lane in the city centre, will undergo both external and internal restoration between May and August, but will be open as normal for the majority of that time.
In a message to parishioners in the weekly bulletin, the parish administrator, Fr James Boyle, wrote: “The external work will not cause any disruption to the daily operation of the church, however, the internal redecoration will result in the main church being closed for a period which will not exceed three weeks.”