Irish in Paris show support for victims

Irish people living in Paris brought white lilies and roses to Mass at Chapelle Saint Patrick at the Irish College on Rue des Irlandais yesterday morning, where they were joined by the Irish ambassador to France, Geraldine Byrne Nason, and her family, for a particularly poignant service.

Prayers were said for the only Irish person known to have been caught up in the attack who is in a stable condition in hospital after surgery for gunshot wounds.

Fr Dwayne Gavin, who is chaplain to the Irish community in Paris, said many first- time visitors joined the regulars for the service. “There was a palpable sense of grief but also of solidarity with the French people. There was a sense of people wanting to show their unity,” he said.

Fr Gavin, who was home in Co Meath for his niece’s baptism when the attacks took place but cut short his visit to return to Paris the next night, said the normally vibrant city was eerily silent.

“But as I look out the window now I see life returning to normal. The French are very dignified. They have the sang-froid, the French version of the stiff upper lip.

“What is very sad though is that France is very family orientated and this morning, in the back of their minds, people are wondering: ‘Is there a risk if I take my family out to lunch that something like this will happen again’?”