{"id":505920,"date":"2026-05-27T22:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/505920\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:52:22","slug":"we-cannot-allow-hatred-to-win-seventh-annual-eid-celebration-proceeds-at-croke-park-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/505920\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We cannot allow hatred to win\u2019 \u2013 seventh annual Eid celebration proceeds at Croke Park \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIs \u00e9 Dia is fearr. Is \u00e9 Dia is fearr (God is great. God is great),\u201d began Shayk Umar al-Qadri at the Eid al-Adha 2026 prayer and celebrations in Croke Park<\/a> on Wednesday morning. <\/p>\n

Before him, sitting on the vast pitch, were upward of 500 Muslim men, women and children, each arrayed in finery as splendid as the morning itself, and all under the benign screen at the Hill 16 end which proclaimed \u201cWelcome to Croke Park\u201d. <\/p>\n

Guests attending included former taoiseach Bertie Ahern<\/a> and Msgr Eoin Thynne, representing the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell.<\/p>\n

Shaykh al-Qadri, chair of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council and Chief Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland, based in West Dublin, told everyone it was the seventh Eid celebrations in Croke Park and almost did not happen because of \u201cprotests from a very tiny minority\u201d<\/a>. <\/p>\n

However, such was the reaction to those protests from an \u201coverwhelming majority\u201d of Irish people, allied to \u201ccontinued support\u201d of the GAA<\/a> and \u201ckindness from local residents\u201d, that he and others realised \u201cwe cannot allow hatred to win\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eid al-Adha is one of the two main annual Muslim feasts. Gatherings like the one in Croke Park showed that \u201cpeople of different backgrounds can share space with dignity and peace\u201d and were a reminder \u201cthat the vast majority of people, regardless of religion or background, simply want to live good lives, raise their families, and treat one another with respect\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"ImamImam Umar al-Qadri, speaking at the festival of Eid in Croke Park, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \"FormerFormer taoiseach Bertie Ahern standing alongside Umar al-Qadri, as guests arrive at the festival of Eid in Croke Park. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

It was why \u201cthis Eid in Croke Park is important. Not only for Muslims. But for Ireland itself\u201d, al-Qadri said.<\/p>\n

He advised young Muslims to \u201clearn about this country. Learn its history. Learn some Irish phrases\u201d because \u201clanguage opens hearts. Respect opens doors\u201d. He encouraged them to \u201cengage with the GAA and local initiatives, volunteer, participate, build friendships\u201d.<\/p>\n

Concluding, he said, \u201cLet this Eid gathering continue to stand as a message from Ireland to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahern was greeted with warm applause as he rose to speak, reminding all that Croke Park was an \u201c\u00e1it stairi\u00fail\u201d in Ireland. He had had \u201cso many opportunities over the years of visiting your centres and your people\u201d and it was \u201ca great honour to be here with you again today\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"MonsignorMonsignor Eoin Thynne, representing Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, speaking the festival of Eid in Croke Park, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

Eid was \u201ca hugely important day in mosques all over Ireland in 50 locations\u201d, he said, and reminded attendees how this \u201chuge gathering here is very near to my own home in this end of Dublin\u201d. He wished all \u201cEid Mubarak [a blessed Eid]\u201d and \u201ca really happy and pleasant day. Go raibh mile, mile maith agaibh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thynne brought \u201cthe warmest of greetings and good wishes from our own Christian community … We come from the same spiritual heritage. We are children of Abraham. We both profess faith in the one God.\u201d <\/p>\n

He noted how \u201cin the Koran, Mary is spoken of with such love and reverence, more often than in our own scriptures\u201d. He said: \u201cIn her we share a very special bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across Ireland he had seen how Muslims had \u201ccontributed so much to our society, working in our hospitals, serving the common good, raising wonderful families and building places of worship that enrich the landscape of our towns and cities\u201d.<\/p>\n

Earlier Thynne, who had served as chaplain to the Defence Forces, including in South Lebanon, remembered \u201cmany, many happy days there. I am thinking of those men who were deployed this morning\u201d. <\/p>\n

Speaking to The Irish Times, he recalled the \u201cwonderful relationship\u201d between the Defence Forces and people in south Lebanon, \u201cmainly Muslims and the people generally, built up over the years and which has continued right to this very day\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIs \u00e9 Dia is fearr. Is \u00e9 Dia is fearr (God is great. God is great),\u201d began Shayk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[15526,9,10,1007,13,14,5286,6,96669,11,12,15,16,5,95748,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":["post-505920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-bertie-ahern","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-croke-park","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-gaa","tag-headlines","tag-islamic-cultural-centre-of-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-religion-beliefs","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-world","tag-world-news","tag-worldnews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116648998750283561","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}