Cork brothers to be honoured at Boherbue school celebration

Boherbue Comprehensive School in North Cork has been chosen as the location to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Project Children, honouring Rockchapel brothers Pat and Denis Mulcahy’s contribution to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

The brothers set up Project Children in 1975. It offered a once in a lifetime opportunity for children of ‘The Troubles’ to spend six weeks of the summer in America. The initiative offered more than 23,000 young people the opportunity of a six-week summer reprieve from the violence.

The programme gave the children not only a break from the conflict, but also a vision of what peace could look like.

Next Monday’s celebration will include a screening of How to Defuse a bomb — The Project Children Story, which is narrated by Liam Neeson.

This will be followed by an opportunity for students to meet the Nobel Peace Prize nominee Denis, a former New York Police Department (NYPD) detective, and his brother Pat, a former investigator with the NYPD organised crime control bureau.

Vera Leader, principal of Boherbue Comprehensive School, said that it is a huge honour for the school to host a screening of the film, and have the Mulcahy brothers in attendance as guests.

“It is an opportunity for the students to meet Denis and Pat. It is just a remarkable story of compassion and courage. It just goes to show for our students that you can make a difference. I think that is the biggest message for us.

“These two men started something that became so huge, in terms of helping to bring about a peace process. It is remarkable what they did, and I think it is so inspiring. That is the huge thing, that ordinary people like us can make a difference,” said Ms Leader.

“It is great to be able to have the opportunity to screen the documentary and for the students to meet two men, who were born not far from the school, went to America and did great things.”

Ms Leader added that the screening in Boherbue Comprehensive School will also focus on student engagement and mentorship.

There will also be a community screening in Rockchapel on Monday evening, which the brothers are also scheduled to be in attendance.