Kildare politician in peace call
Naas Bob Quinn has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestine-Israel conflict to honour the legacy of Brigid of Kildare.
At a Kildare County Council meeting his call for KCC staff and councillors to observe a Pause for Peace at 12 noon on St Brigid’s Day February 1 was agreed.
However his colleagues were careful to ensure that this did not mean they endorsed any particular views in relation to conflicts anywhere in the world.
The Pause for Peace initiative invites people from around the world to pause whatever they’re doing for one minute’s silence or reflection on the saint’s feast day.
He noted that Sister Rita Minehan, a Brigidine Sister and founder of the Solas Bhríde Centre in Kildare town, said “by pausing for peace, we send out a message that we actively oppose warfare and the proliferation of arms, which wreak havoc on human beings as well as on the natural world.”
He said this movement aims to awaken and build a spirit of global solidarity “in our search for peace.”
“As we celebrate Brigid 1500 on the anniversary of Brigid’s death in 524,” said Cllr Quinn after the meeting, “it seems opportune that we take peace seriously. Brigid was renowned as a woman of peace. She gave away her father’s valuable jewelled sword to a poor man so he could barter it for food for his family. She transformed the weapon into a ploughshare, if you will.”
“People may think calling for an end to a massive conflict is a complete waste of time,” he continued, “but peace begins with the individual and has the power to build to a community movement, like Pause for Peace, which is a global movement.”