Honouring the victims of tragedy

CONSIDERING the week that was in it, it was nice to see Dublin organising a series of special events to honour the courage of victims of September 11.

First there was the launch of Niall O’Dowd’s book, Fire in the Morning, by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the Merrion Hotel. Telling the story of the Irish and the Twin Towers, O’Dowd (editor and publisher of the Irish Voice newspaper) focused specifically on the many Irish Americans who lost their lives when terror struck America.

“The Irish built New York and when the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, it took over a thousand Irish with it,” he said.

Continuing the commemoration, a breathtaking exhibition of photographs, entitled Here Is New York, was launched in the old Sausage Factory on Dublin’s Fade Street on Tuesday.

Officially opened by New Yorker Patti O’Reilly, the exhibition of images, which began in an empty storefront in downtown Manhattan, has already been viewed by almost a million people in New York over the past year.

The Dublin exhibition, which runs until September 25, features a total of 904 photographs, including four new additions by Irish photographer Mark Nixon. Among the well-known faces who attended the launch were Albert Reynolds and daughter Kathy.

“It’s remarkable, it’s very moving. I’m not surprised so many people went to see it in New York, there’s some frightening images here,” said Mr Reynolds.

Another photographic exhibition in response to September 11, entitled Ground Zero, also opened during the week at the Temple Bar Gallery. That exhibit runs until September 20.