On Wednesday 4th November Vanessa and I travelled to Dublin, Ireland, where we were hosted by Dr Janet Craven assisted by Ena Gray and Georgina Forbes. Janet had worked very hard to make sure our visit went smoothly.

Add caption Georgina, Janet, Shirley and Ena 

The afternoon was filled with visits from a variety of people and it was a privilege to share with each one. We presented everyone with a copy of the letter of apology from 2002 which we had made into scrolls.

Vanessa Murphy,Sr. Marie O Leary, and Shirley

Shirley presents Geoffrey Bird with a scoll 

The next day started with a meeting with Luke Verling, a freelance journalist, who recorded an interview for Christian magazine VOX. Speaking with Luke was one of the highlights for me as I could see how moved he was as I answered his questions and shared my story.

 Luke Verling interviews Shirley

He then very kindly drove us to Trinity College for our meeting with Dr Micheál Ó Siochrú, Senior Lecturer in history and author of the book “God’s Executioner” (the story of Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland).

This meeting went really well. Micheál was a real gentleman as he listened to the story of our work. He also shared some of his work to bring the truth of the 17th Century to light and his desire to help people come to terms with history. He could see we are both working to the same end, just in different ways. I presented him with a framed copy of the orginal letter. 

Our last appointment was with the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, at his residence, a large house with a warm welcome! We were shown into the library where we waited for His Grace. He began by asking where we were from and this enabled me to tell him “Huntingdon, Cromwell‘s birthplace“. He asked about our work and listened very intently. He was particulary touched by the story of the Poor Whites in Barbados.

Shirley with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

I also presented him with a framed letter. He seemed impressed with our work and asked us to keep him informed of our future trips. All glory to God!