Honoring Denis Mulcahy For His Work Helping Children Caught Up In ‘The Troubles’

Caught up in the terrible violence that plagued Northern Ireland some 40 years ago were children – Catholic and Protestant. Bombings, shootings and other violence were regular occurrences in many of these children’s lives.

One man – Irish-born but a proud American immigrant – decided to make a difference and bring some of the children for summer respite vacations in America, where they stayed with families throughout the region, including Rockland County.

For his efforts, Denis Mulcahy has been honored with the Rockland County Legislature’s Distinguished Service Award. Legislators Vincent D. Tyer (R-Pearl River), Patrick Moroney (R-Pearl River) and Christopher Carey (R-Bardonia) presented the award to the Greenwood Lake resident last week.

“It is an honor to recognize Denis for all that he has done for so many years, and for so many children,” Tyer said. “Many of the children he helped would have never known any sense of peace without his efforts.”

Mulcahy, the founder and chairman of Project Children, was honored as part of the Legislature’s Irish Heritage Month celebration.

Mulcahy was a member of the New York City Police Department back in 1975 when he decided to help children who were living through “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland – a period of political violence that brought shootings, bombings and other savagery to the region.

Mulcahy, an NYPD bomb squad specialist, and his brother Pat, a co-founder of the organization and fellow NYPD member, had grown up in County Cork in southwest Ireland, and were horrified by what the children of Northern Ireland were experiencing.

A new program, Project Children, was launched and over the next 40 years brought more than 20,000 Irish Catholic and Protestant children to America to stay with host families and enjoy a summer break from the horrors back home. Many of these children stayed with families in Rockland County, as well as nearby counties.

“Children are our most precious gift,” Moroney said. “So many of these children were facing terrible horrors and we have Denis and all the people who supported and participated in the program to thank for showing these children another way of living - one that does not include daily violence.”

Some observers, including President Bill Clinton, have credited Project Children and similar programs with building a bridge of understanding between two sides that had become segregated and insulated as the fighting continued, and for showing the world a way down a path of reconciliation. Due to his work with Project Children, Mulcahy was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1979 and in 1993.

A documentary, “How to Defuse a Bomb: The Project Children Story,” is now being screened at film festivals around the U.S.

Carey said there was a time when a path to peace in Northern Ireland was impossible to envision.

“Denis Mulcahy, through his own deeds, showed that change could happen,” Carey said. “The children who participated in this program got to see another side and also helped educate people when they returned home.”

PHOTO: Participating in the Rockland County Legislature's Irish Heritage celebration were (left to right) Rockland County Ladies’ Ancient Order of Hibernians’ President Lilian Murphy, Legislator Patrick Moroney (R-Pearl River), Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians’ Division 3 President Dermot Moore, Legislator Vincent D. Tyer (R-Pearl River), Honoree Denis Mulcahy, Legislator Christopher Carey (R-Bardonia), and Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians’ Financial Secretary Cy Hughes./ contributed