Commins urges Irish to work for world’s poor

FREED aid worker Sharon Commins has urged Irish people to use their skills for the benefit of people around the world in greatest need.

The 33-year-old Dublin woman and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kawuki, 42, who were held for 107 days by kidnappers in war-torn Sudan, have been presented with the first Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award.

Ms Commins attended the presentation ceremony, in Killarney, at the weekend, and her father, Mark, accepted the award on behalf of Ms Kawuki. Also present were her mother, Agatha, her brother, Martin and his partner, Áine.

The award is dedicated to the memory of Co Cork-born Monsignor O’Flaherty who helped save over 6,500 people in Italy during WWII.

According to the citation, the award is “in recognition of unstinting humanity and bravery when coming to the aid of the oppressed”.

In her acceptance speech, she thanked her family and everyone who supported her and Ms Kawuki. She said the work of aid agencies and missionaries was essential to ensure dignity to those in greatest need.

While her experience was a difficult one, she strongly recommended that people volunteer with aid agencies for a one-year period. “It is enormously rewarding work and we are so proud to have been involved in it,” Ms Commins said.

The two women had been nominated by several agencies, including GOAL, Concern, Plan Ireland and Trocaire, for the award.

Retired Supreme Court judge Hugh O’Flaherty and Pearl Dineen, nephew and niece of Monsignor O’Flaherty, and Bishop Bill Murphy, of Kerry, also attended.

Killarney Mayor Michael Gleeson said Ms Commins survived because of her rare and splendid courage and indomitable spirit: “Your victory is not about ransoms or even diplomacy. It is about that wonderful quality called goodness.

“It is a quality which is innate in every human being but for far too many of us it lies quietly dormant, waiting, like Godot, for the right moment.”