Thousands gather at vigils across Ireland to pay tribute to tragic Sligo men Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee
THOUSANDS gathered at vigils across Ireland to pay tribute to tragic Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee.
The bodies of both men were found in their separate homes in Sligo Town this week.
Auctioneer and Peace Commissioner Aidan, 42, was found dead in his home in Cartron Heights last Monday evening, while Mr Snee, 58, was discovered at 10.30pm the following night at his apartment in City View.
Both will be laid to rest in their hometowns on Easter Monday.
Hundreds turned out in front of the Town Hall in Sligo as well as outside Leinster House in Dublin to show solidarity and support for those affected by the double tragedy.
Sligo Mayor Arthur Gibbons told crowds who had lined the streets: “What happened last week is not reflective of Sligo.”
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Pictures of the two men were displayed at the doors of the Town Hall, alongside candles and flowers, and those gathered paused for a sombre minute’s silence.
In Dublin, a large crowd assembled at the gates of the Dail to hear speeches.
Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, Chairperson of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, told those gathered: “Today we find ourselves in the shadow of tragedy. We should not have to be here today. We should not have to live in the shadow of tragedy or fear.
“We come together to remember Aidan and Michael, to extend our love, prayers and solidarity to those who knew and love them.
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“But we also come here to attest to our togetherness, to tell the world that we will face down the cruel dehumanisation and authorisation of LGBTQI people together, that we will beat homophobia together.
“We remain committed to tackling this and we’ll be looking further to develop a common strategy with our friends and allies in the LGBTQI sector in the coming week.”
Executive Director of ShoutOut, Aifric Ní Chríodáin, said at the Dublin event: “Above all else, we are standing in remembrance of these two men. We are thinking of their loved ones, of the lives they lived, and the people they cared for.
“I really hope that those who grieve Michael and Aidan can feel some of this solidarity and feel some of this comfort pouring out from vigils in every county in Ireland tonight.
'SOLIDARITY AND LOVE'
“I hope that every lonely LGBTQ plus person in a small town in Ireland can feel that solidarity and that love too. We can move forward from this. We have an opportunity to heal our communities and to make sure this never happens again.
“We have an opportunity to make sure LGBTQ plus people will be safe. We will do this through solidarity. You will do this through love. We will do this through empathy, conversation and education.
“We protect each other because there is no other way to survive in this world.
“Together we can and we will help the young people in our communities to understand and embrace difference and to care more deeply for those around them.
“We will do this through conversation and we will do this with great courage. We cannot do it alone.”
COMMUNITY REELING
LGBT Ireland’s James O’Hagan said: “We as a community have spent the last number of days reeling from these events, and we can only imagine how difficult it must be for those who knew and loved Aidan and Michael.
“All members of the LGBTQ plus community have the right to feel and be safe in our streets and online.”
Sligo Pride, which organised the Sligo vigil, said it was “shocked and devastated” to hear about the recent deaths.
They had asked those attending to wear black and keep Pride colours to small items.
And Dublin Pride said: “We as a community are in pain, we are angry, we are afraid and many of us are feeling powerless right now.
“We have been here before, and we know exactly what to do. We are going to come together and share our grief, we are going to remember and honour Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee.”
NATIONWIDE VIGILS
At the Belfast vigil, there was a minute’s noise to symbolise a need for the voices of people in the LGBT community to be heard.
LGBT activist Jude Copeland told the crowd: “It’s a really horrible time but it’s one where our community can come together and care for each other and bits of solidarity and messages that we can share with each other.”
In Waterford, hundreds gathered at John Robert’s Square, where a number of speakers addressed the crowd and poetry was read.
In Galway, a remembrance for the two men will take place at Eyre Square at 7pm Saturday evening.
Smaller events are being held around the country for people who may want to pay their respects, with services also planned for Wexford, Cork, Limerick and Kilkenny.
The vigil in Cork will take place on Monday evening and has been organised by members from Gay Project, LINC and Cork Pride.
LGBT Ireland said it is “deeply saddened” by the killings, describing it as a “dark week” for the community in Ireland.
PROACTIVE ALLIES
Chief Executive of LGBT Ireland Paula Fagan said they expected a big turnout at the vigils, with a total of 35 being held around the country.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland said: "It is really, really important and it's incumbent on us all that we are proactive, visible, strong allies.
“That we call out homophobic biphobic and transphobic language and behaviours, name calling...no name calling is harmless. It hurts. It creates fear, particularly among our most vulnerable."
Singer Shobsy told the Irish Sun: "These various nationwide vigils organised over the next few days shows a unique outpouring of love and support for our community from the Irish people."
PUBLIC REACTION
Newlyweds James Mitchell and Sean MacGabhann attended the Dublin vigil.
Sean said: “It’s a pretty horrific thing, it's 2022. We just got married a few weeks ago and you think things are getting better.
“It’s very bittersweet when you see something like this happening still in this day and age when you think you're finally safe to be yourself.”
James added: “People tend to think that because the majority of the country voted for marriage equality a few years ago that things are okay now.
“But as queer people, we still don't feel societal comfort with walking down the street holding hands without it being a political statement. We've never naturally held hands and that's what I'd ask the person who thinks that there shouldn't be hate crime legislation to think about.
“Think about that, the true nature of what it is to feel not equal from birth in this country.”
An Garda Síochána also reminded people that a number of support services are available to any members of the LGBTQI+ community seeking help at all times, and these are listed at www.garda.ie.
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
Meanwhile, the two men will be laid to rest in their hometowns on Monday.
The funeral of 42-year-old Mr Moffitt will take place on Easter Monday in Lisacul, Co Roscommon.
An online death notice said the local Fine Gael activist will be “sadly missed and remembered with love by his heartbroken family”.
Michael Snee will be laid to rest alongside his mother Phil in the parish of St Joseph’s in Ballytivnan after a funeral mass at 12 noon on Monday. He grew up in the Carton area where Mr Moffitt lived.
Yousef Palani, 22, with an address at Markievicz Heights in Sligo, appeared in court on Thursday evening in connection with the deaths.
He is charged with the murder of Mr Moffitt at Cartron Heights in Sligo on April 10.
He is also charged with the murder of Mr Snee at City View Apartments on the Connaughton Road in Sligo on April 12.
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Palani faces a third charge of assault causing serious harm to Anthony Burke, arising out of an incident in Sligo on April 9.
He is due to appear in court again next week.
