Ask Killarney’s Jerry O’Grady if he is proud of his efforts to honor the legacy of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty – the Irish priest who is credited with saving the lives of an estimated 6,500 Allied prisoners of war during World War II – and he demurs.
“I take satisfaction in our efforts,” O’Grady clarifies. “But I take pride in Hugh O’Flaherty.”
This distinction exemplifies the selfless work of O’Grady and his fellow volunteers who established the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Society in 2008 and will be awarding the O’Flaherty Humanitarian Medal an individual or organization considered to be an outstanding humanitarian role model later this year.
Jerry O’Grady with a statue honoring Hugh O’Flaherty
For O’Grady, who serves as chair of the memorial society, his interest in studying the past dates to his school years; as he says, “I’ve always been a lover of history. I would smile going into that class.”
O’Grady’s passion for history was put on the back burner while he pursued a successful professional career at Pretty Polly, the well-known hosiery and lingerie brand that had a major presence in Killarney and was ultimately bought by Sara Lee. As a local business leader, he went on to serve as CEO of the Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce, and he recalls the day when the idea for honoring Monsignor O’Flaherty came across his desk.
“Our Chamber of Commerce office was based in the Discover Ireland office in Killarney, and below us was the mayor’s office. Two of our Chamber members visited me after they had read a story about a new book about Hugh O’Flaherty, and they pointedly asked me, ‘why aren’t we doing something to publicize this man?’ After all, O’Flaherty was a proud Killarney native. So, the three of us went downstairs to meet with the mayor, got him on board, and soon enough we had a committee formed.”
U.S. Brigadier General George Smith presenting the U.S. Medal of Freedom to Fr. Hugh O’Flaherty, in December, 1945
The book would reignite interest in Monsignor O’Flaherty, and in 2008, O’Grady and his fellow volunteers created the Killarney International Humanitarian Award, presenting it to the descendants of Monsignor O’Flaherty on behalf of the people of Killarney. They would subsequently award the O’Flaherty Humanitarian Medal annually from 2009 to 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic halted operations. Recipients of the award include Ireland’s UN Peacekeepers, Darfur-based aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, and Sister Agnes Hunt of the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas, among the many deserving honorees.
This year will mark the first year since 2019 that the award will be bestowed on another recipient. As part of the honor, winning recipients will receive €3000 and be recognized at a special awards ceremony in Killarney in October.
Society Committee in 2012 with then Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and the UK ambassador and the Papal Nuncio
For all the efforts of O’Grady and his compatriots who have organized this award and its heroic recipients, the heart of this story remains Hugh O’Flaherty and his remarkable actions in Italy over eighty years ago that earned him the nickname of the “Irish Oskar Schindler.”
In the autumn of 1942, the Germans and Italians began to crack down on prominent Italian Jews and aristocratic anti-fascists. Having socialized with these people before the war, Monsignor O’Flaherty now hid them in monasteries and convents, in his old college and in his own residence. In the spring of 1943, his operation broadened to include escaped British prisoners of war and shot-down allied airmen. He developed a network of safe apartments in Rome in which they could hide.
By the end of the war he had helped over 6,500 Jews, American and British soldiers escape from the Germans, and his activities earned him the nickname “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican” as he became the master of disguises, evading capture from the Germans when he had to leave the security of the Vatican to go on his rescue missions.
After the war, the Monsignor received many decorations, including Commander of the British Empire and the US Medal of Freedom. His death in 1963 made front page news in the New York Times.
If readers believe that a movie could be made about Monsignor O’Flaherty’s life, they would be reassured that such a film - The Scarlet and the Black - was released in 1983. Starring Gregory Peck as Monsignor O’Flaherty and Christopher Plummer as a German SS officer, the film is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Not lost on O’Grady is the importance of Monsignor O’Flaherty’s heritage. After all, the memorial to the Monsignor stands in a high-profile location in the middle of Killarney and has become a center of attraction for many of the millions of visitors to the town each year. More than any physical landmark, however, Monsignor O’Flaherty’s actions exemplify the spirit of humanitarianism that has come to mark Ireland and the Irish people.
“We have a small military, but we are proud that every year we have sent military personnel to UN peacekeeping roles, at large expense,” O’Grady shares. “Per capita, Ireland continues to give more in terms of people and money. It’s ingrained in our psyche, perhaps from the days of our colonial past, or even back to the Famine. We seem to be more receptive to giving and helping, above and beyond what our size would otherwise suggest. That just seems to be our nature, as it was Hugh O’Faherty’s.
While over half a century has passed since Monsignor O’Flaherty’s death, O’Grady believes his story is as relevant as ever, and he carries on the sacred duty of passing on this story to younger generations.
“Hugh O’Flaherty’s story is about a gentleman who was an incredible role model, who didn’t stick to his neutrality. When he saw people needed to be protected, he stepped up and ran the organization that saved people. Certain stories, like Monsignor O’Flaherty’s, are life changing, life enriching, and educational on how we should evolve as people and societies. If we don’t study, research, and appreciate history, then we are going to make the same mistakes again. Even though we seem to keep making those mistakes in the present times, that shouldn’t stop us from trying.”
It certainly has not stopped Jerry O’Grady from trying.
For more information about the Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award, please visit www.hughoflaherty.com
O’Grady Honors Hugh O’Flaherty’s Legacy with Intl Humanitarian Award
