Church unity in concert of 2,000 years

The "extraordinary witness" of the late Gordon Wilson and his wife Joan was recalled at an ecumenical celebration in the National Concert Hall yesterday.

It was attended by the President, Mrs McAleese, and the Archbishops of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell and Dr Walton Empey. The "ecumenical celebration" of 2,000 years of Christianity was also attended by representatives of the State's other main Christian denominations.

Father Martin Tierney, of St Audeon's in Dublin, one of the organisers of the event, recalled Joan Wilson's "terrible moment" when she heard of her daughter Marie's death and the family's determination to stick together.

"Let's try, with God's help, to muster as much strength and dignity as we can," Mr Wilson had said. For Father Tierney this was another illustration of "the power of the resurrected Christ".

The Rev Trevor Morrow, Presbyterian minister in Lucan, Co Dublin, said that as families and as a nation we carried the scars and baggage of our past. As a country, he said, "we have sacrificed our children to the dreams of yesterday," quoting from Paul Brady's song, The Island.

"How can we start again?" he asked. "What are we to say - that all of this doesn't matter? Or, `let's forget about it, let's put it all behind us'?" Forgiveness was much more difficult than that. Within our family we should reach out the hand of forgiveness, "and to our fellow Irish men and women with whom we have been in conflict for generations, on this day of new beginnings let's hold out our hand and say, `I do not want to be your enemy, I want to be your friend'."

The hour-long ceremony of music, song, dance and readings was introduced by RTE's Bryan Dobson. Other participants inclu ded actress Geraldine Plunkett, Denise Kelly on harp, Gabriel McKeon on uileann pipes, Noirin Ni Riain and Coicead, contralto Deirdre Cooling-Nolan and Maire Breathnach.

Father Liam Lawton sang The Breastplate, John McCann played the organ, with Philip Brophy and Amy Keane performing linking dialogue. The musical director was Father Pat O'Donoghue.