Bishop’s plea to families: don’t be afraid

DON’T be afraid — that was the message from the Archbishop of Dublin yesterday in the wake of several gun murders in the capital.

As the community of north inner city Dublin prepared to bury young plumber Anthony Campbell, Dr Diarmuid Martin told families to stand strong against gang killings.

Twenty-year-old Anthony was shot dead while fixing a radiator in Finglas, because he unwittingly saw the killer of a major drug lord, Martin ‘Marlo’ Hyland.

Archbishop Martin called on communities to help catch killers by sharing information with the gardaí.

“All of us must bring home to those who attempt to impose their ‘law’ by means of fear that, as a society, we are prepared to show that we are not afraid of them.”

The Catholic leader said priests were seeing families torn apart by drug abuse.

“I know from priests in many parishes how the trade in illegal drugs in Dublin is destroying lives.

“In addition to the terrible shootings and beatings that make the news, there is the daily reality of young lives being wasted and families and communities being ripped apart by the terrible plague of drug abuse. There can be no tolerance of this trade.”

Echoing comments by Justice Minister Michael McDowell that middle-class communities could not be blind to the damage being done by supporting a demand for drugs, the Archbishop warned: “Those who might seek to characterise, however naively, their use of illegal drugs as being ‘recreational’, cannot be allowed to blind themselves to the terrible consequences of this ‘trade in death’ they are supporting.”

Dr Martin, who spoke about how communities rose up against the fear of the mafia in Italy, where he once lived, stressed that locals needed to out the criminals.

“The streets of Dublin have witnessed a series of horrific killings. They are a terrible reminder of a culture of violence that is beginning to devastate areas of our city.

“There is no room for complacency in the face of such evil. I wish to encourage every support for the gardaí and other civic authorities in their efforts to bring to justice those responsible for these murders and to prevent further killings.

“I can only praise the courage of individuals and communities who, notwithstanding threats and intimidation, are willing to bring to the attention of the relevant authorities the information they need to act against those who seek to profit from the suffering and addictions of others.”