“We are all shocked and saddened by the events that took place at the Boston Marathon”

“We are all shocked and saddened by the events that took place at the Boston Marathon when two explosions at the finish line caused death and injuries.

As President Obama has said the full resources of the federal government will help state and local authorities ‘protect our people, increase security around the United States as necessary, and investigate what happened’.

Having been here in Ireland for the last three years, I know the special relationship that the Irish have with the city of Boston.

I myself went to university and graduate school in that historic city.

President John F. Kennedy, visiting Ireland almost fifty years ago, suggested that ‘if the day was clear enough, and you went down to the bay, and you looked West and your sight was good enough you would see Boston, Massachusetts’. This connection between the Irish and Boston is a living one.

More than 100 Irish citizens participated in this year’s Boston Marathon.

We are relieved that there do not appear to be any Irish casualties and I thank the Government of Ireland for its statements of sympathy and support.

I know that the outpouring of concern and interest on the part of the Irish is for all of the victims of a joyful sporting event that attracts more than 23,000 people from 90 countries.

We also commend the response of the first responders and everyone in Boston who reacted so admirably to this tragedy.

All our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this time."

John Hennessey Niland, Charge d'affaires,
U S embassy, Dublin