‘I would love to banish bigotry’
Throw divisions into the Irish Sea, says TV presenter
Eamonn Holmes says he would throw sectarianism here ‘into the Irish Sea’
TELEVISION presenter Eamonn Holmes has told how he wishes he could banish sectarianism in Northern Ireland.
The Belfast man shares his thoughts on a wide range of subjects in a podcast ahead of St Patrick’s Day.
The podcast is hosted by St Patrick Centre pilgrim guides Martina Purdy and Elaine Kelly and also marks the Downpatrick organisation’s 20th anniversary.
The 40-minute discussion is being aired today at the start of a week of online events for St Patrick’s week and includes writing and art competitions, a virtual walk, a day of dance and a show telling the story of Patrick.
In the interview, Eamonn, who is originally from the New Lodge, recalls St Patrick’s Day as “always the most special day in our household”.
He said: “My father, a working man, he was a carpet fitter but he always took St Patrick’s Day off.
“And I remember one day … he had been to 11 o’clock Mass in St Patrick’s on Donegall Street… the Mass was said in Irish and they bless you with a St Patrick’s relic.
“And his boss called him in and said you’ve got to come and work today and my dad just resigned his job... I remember him consulting with my mother and she was with him absolutely.”
He also recalls going to Mass and being given a shamrock, after which the family enjoyed a day out on the coast, before going home for fish and chips.
“It always has been a special day. Then, of course, I marry an English woman whose birthday happens to be on St Patrick’s Day,” he added.
Eamonn, who has homes in east Belfast and England, told his interviewers that, like St Patrick who is said to have banished snakes, if he could banish anything it would be sectarianism.
He said: “I’m so proud to be from here, I’m so proud to be a Belfast man... our friendliness around the world is absolutely renowned. If I could take that strain of what divides us and separate it and throw it into the Irish Sea, I would do that…”
He also recalls his schooldays at St Malachy’s College and in particular Fr Patrick Walsh, later Bishop Walsh, who was then president of the college.
“He was a towering influence… he ruled with an iron fist there and I have tremendous respect for the man, a great disciplinarian but you were in fear and awe of him,” he said.
He relates one story when he got detention from Fr Walsh for being late because his bus was hijacked.
“These days I would have been sent for a month’s counselling ... I’d have been given a councillor and all sort of recuperation policies,” he laughed.
“But that kept that school going …there was no excuses for the Troubles… We were an oasis while bombs and bullets and noises went on all around us in north Belfast.”
Eamonn, who has interviewed Hollywood stars such as John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman and Meg Ryan, also reveals that the person he would still like to interview is the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.
He said: “I think when you look at people who just get on with it and know what it is to serve as opposed to what it is to give orders, you think ‘you know you could be a different person but you have accepted this role’...”
He also reflects on his 40 years in journalism, saying he has been “blessed” to do a job he loves and would do it again.