Cardinal Tomas O’Fiaich: 'The only unity worth having is a unity of hearts'

The regular diners in the Roman trattoria close to the Irish College didn’t know it then, but the cleric joining in a chorus of The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee was none other than Cardinal Tomas O’Fiaich, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, who died suddenly in Lourdes on this day 30 years ago.

The complexities of cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich are worth remembering, writes TP O'Mahony.

Cardinal Tomas O Fiaich, unveiling a plaque to poet Sean O'Riordain, in February of 1980. Pic: Donal Sheehan.