The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty has offered his prayers and sympathies for Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee, the two men murdered in Sligo earlier this week.
Bishop Nulty also said that he dedicated some of his Easter ceremony on Friday evening to both men’s families, and the entire gay community that has been affected by the tragedy.
Speaking to Edward Hayden on KCLR’s The Saturday Show, Bishop Nulty said “I always do a ceremony late on Good Friday night, and I dedicated the first station [of the cross] to Aidan and Michael and to their families, and to the gay community who have been very, very disturbed by all of this, but all of us have. Nobody should be condemned to death, in the harshest of ways.”
Meanwhile, vigils are continuing to take place throughout the country and locally across the weekend. Vigils are organised for Blessington in Co. Wicklow, Eyre Square in Galway and many other locations on Saturday evening. Locally, Carlow Pride Festival are hosting a vigil from the Liberty Tree at 6.30pm on Saturday, while Kilkenny held a vigil on Friday evening.
22-year-old Yousef Palani with an address at Markievicz Heights in Sligo has been charged with the murders of both men.
LGBT Ireland says the events of the past week have re-triggered a fear which all members of the LBGTI+ community have felt. Their spokesperson James O’Hagan says that hate crime laws are needed; “The problem with homophobia, biphobia and transphobia is all of Ireland’s to solve. All members of the LGBTI+ community have the right to feel and be safe in our streets and online. The events of the last week are a stark reminder of the urgent need for effective and comprehensive hate crime legislation.”
