A TRUE Northside legend was given the Freedom of the City of Dublin last weekend.
Fr Peter McVerry, who began his heroic work with the homeless from a three-bedroom flat in Ballymun, was bestowed with the honour along with Irish rugby icon, Brian
O’Driscoll, in the Mansion House last Saturday evening.
Peter grew up in Newry, Co Down, and was educated at the Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School in Newry and at the Jesuit school at Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare.
In 1962, he entered the Jesuit Order and was ordained in 1975. From 1974 to 1980, Peter worked in Dublin’s Inner City where he came into contact with young people who were sleeping on the streets.
He opened a hostel for homeless boys, aged 12-16, in 1979 and this subsequently became his lifetime work. He saw through the work of this hostel that when the boys reached 16 and needed to leave, they had few options open to them and most ended up back living on the streets.
This realisation led him to set about providing services and accommodation for these older youths.
In 1980 Peter moved to Ballymun and by the end of
’83 had founded the Arrupe Society, a charity to tackle homelessness. This charity, subsequently renamed as the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT), has progressed from a three-bedroom flat in Ballymun to 11 homeless hostels, over 100 apartments, a residential drug detox centre and two drug stabilisation services.
The vision of PMVT is to support all those living on the margins and to uphold their rights to full inclusion in society. In 2013 the charity worked with almost 3,600 vulnerable youths.
As a social activist Peter is a strong advocate for those who have no voice in society. He has written widely on issues relating to young homeless people such as accommodation, drugs, juvenile justice, the GardaÃ, prisons and education.
He has a regular article in the monthly Redemptorist magazine, Reality, and speaks on issues of homelessness, justice and faith to groups around the country. He is a critic of Government policy on issues such as homelessness, drugs and criminal justice.
Peter has produced a book of writings, called
‘The Meaning is in the Shadows’, which reflects on his experiences working in Dublin’s Inner City. His most recent book is
‘Jesus – Social Revolutionary?’
Now based at the Open Access Centre in Upper Sherrard Street, Peter’s ongoing work with and campaigning on behalf of troubled young people has made him one of the most prophetic voices in Ireland today.
Speaking at the 50th Eucharistic Congress held in Dublin in June 2013 he said:
“In a community that loves one another, there should be no-one poor, (unless all are poor); there should be no-one homeless, no-one lonely, no-one sick or alone without visitors, no-one in prison who has been abandoned and written off, there should be no-one rejected or marginalised.
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The Freedom of the City acknowledges the tireless work done by Peter for the young people of Dublin.
Dublin Lord Mayor OisÃn Quinn said:
“The Freedom of the City is the biggest honour Dublin City can bestow on one of its citizens and it is an honour for me to add Fr Peter and Brian to the list of illustrious names in the Roll of Honorary Freedom of Dublin.
“Though from different generations they share much in common and are both inspirational leaders. They are people who lead by the example they set and in their own way and in their own fields they are individuals who walk the walk.
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Humble as always, Peter played down his own honour and paid tribute to fellow recipient, Brian O’Driscoll.
“Brian is an icon, he has achieved everything that you can achieve in his particular world of rugby,
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“He is a role model for young people and has brought a huge amount of joy and pride to many people because of his achievements.
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Brian O’Driscoll said:
“What Peter does is life or death, he changes people’s lives.
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