ENTERTAINING HUNDREDS of people packed into an Irish pub Saturday night in this Swiss city, Dublin musician Francie Conway put the revelry on hold for a moment.
“I want to do something that hasn’t been done in an Irish pub before,” he said, “and that’s to have a minute of silence to remember this beautiful girl, Manuela”.
Every person in the pub stood, heads bowed, in memory of Manuela Riedo, a 17-year-old Swiss student who almost two years ago was raped and murdered in Galway.
Conway and eight other musical acts from throughout Ireland performed in Basle to benefit the Manuela Riedo Foundation.
Basle pub owner Brendan McGuinness said yesterday the event had raised more than 100,000 Swiss francs (€65,000) for the recently launched organisation, which intends to help rape victims and their families throughout Europe.
Ms Riedo’s killer, Gerald Barry (29) of Rosan Glas, Rahoon, last Friday received two life sentences for raping a foreign student in Galway just seven weeks before Ms Riedo’s death.
But, while anger was directed on Saturday at Barry and the justice system that hadn’t kept him behind bars, Swiss and Irish alike expressed nothing but fellowship.
“We don’t feel in a negative way toward Ireland,” said Danny Schwendener, from Zurich, who said he came to the pub for the music more than the cause, although he knew about the crime from the press.
“It may have seemed that way, and we’re very sorry about that. It could have happened anywhere.”
“When it first happened, I was pretty angry,” said Mirella Temperli, who grew up with Ms Riedo and returned early from her holiday in Spain for the event. “Then I started to think it was one person and not the Irish people. The two countries have really grown together. Tonight, it’s Ireland and Switzerland.”
More than 200 people attended the concert at McGuinness’s Pub which included a performance that hushed the crowd from Dubliner Niamh Kilcawley.
She was the same age as Ms Riedo at the time of the crime, and hearing about the tragedy she wrote a song, and made her first trip to Switzerland to perform it.
“I’m 17, you know,” Ms Kilcawley said. “It could have been anyone. I think about it now, when I walk at night.”
Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop, of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, thanked Ms Riedo’s parents for backing a foundation which was founded in part to educate people about the incidence of rape. “We can’t afford to be naive,” she said. “We have to let our children know there are people who aren’t safe to be around.”
Ms Riedo’s parents, grandmother and aunt travelled to Basle to be at the concert. Her father, Hans-Peter Riedo, said he hoped a similar event planned for Dublin on November 5th got good results.
“We’re a small family and that doesn’t produce such a big echo,” he said. “But those that are here came with their hearts and that makes us happy too.”
To support the foundation, said Ms Temperli, is to support the memory of her childhood friend. “For me,” she said of the music, “it actually means to be close to her. To send her a sign”.
The foundation website is manuela-riedo-foundation.ch