Michael McGoldrick Dies this Week |
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FORMER loyalist and republican paramilitaries prayed side by side with Bridie McGoldrick in Drumbeg North at the funeral wake of her husband Michael who died while on charity work in Moldova earlier this month. Bridie and Michael McGoldrick's Christian testimony of forgiveness, peace and love to everyone made world headlines when their son Michael was murdered in his taxi during the Drumcree stand off nearly ten years ago. That testimony continues today with grieving Bride determined to see Michael's work continue. In an emotional interview Bridie revealed to the MAIL: "I pray for my son's murderer every day and I know my two Michael's are only a breath away." Bridie revealed that Michael McGoldrick senior bore no animosity to his son's murderer and made special prayers in St Peter's Church for Billy Wright when he was murdered in the Maze prison. "God and his grace loves each and everyone of us. I pray for Clifford McKeown every day and I know Jesus was holding the hand of Michael when he was killed. And I know God held the hand of Clifford and asked him not to do it because he also was a child of God." She added: "We lost our only child, but as my husband Michael used to say but today we got thousands more children and with the grace of God and with the will of the people we will feed them. "Michael set up United Christian Aid with Tom Lennon after Michael was murdered. He wanted to do something positive with his life and we were able to forgive his murderer and at the same time help those less fortunate in this world. If someone donates a ??1 that ??1 goes directly to the poor." As a heartbroken Bridie comes to terms with the sudden quietness in her home and the loss of her husband and childhood sweetheart, Michael she is determined that his work will continue in Moldova the poorest country in Europe. "At present we sponsor more than 500 families, two orphanages and feed 60 street children every day of the year. Michael went out every two months and delivered the money personally to each family, giving them a hug and showing them the love of Christ. "He saw a child who lived in a cellar and went out fishing for his food. The boy sold the fish to obtain a loaf of bread and when Michael saw him the child was living in squalor with his wee loaf of bread on a shelf. "Michael gave the child 170,000 Romanian Lei which was equivalent to ??14 and when he came home someone had left their remaining holiday money at our Lurgan home, which co-incidentally was 170,000 Romanian Lei." SPONSOR One day when Michael and Tom were driving through Romania, Michael found a village which he felt they should sponsor. Michael told Tom to stop the van and they would ask at the local Orthodox church how many people were in the village because they could only sponsor 200 families. Bridie added: "When Michael and Tom entered the church they met the priest and through a translator asked him how many families were in the village. When he heard there were 199 the old women started crying. "Michael asked why they were crying and was told that they had just been praying in the church that God would send help to the people of the village. Michael's love shone like a beacon and drew people to him. He felt God had drawn them to that village, it was amazing that he and Tom were standing in the foyer as the people prayed for help." Another day Bridie remembers Michael and Tom were driving through Moldova when Michael shouted 'stop the van! "Out they jumped and Michael ran across to haystacks in a field where he found people were living in absolute squalor. The poor wee craturs said Michael. At the time Tom didnt see the people and it was Michael's eagle eye which spotted them living in the haystacks. "Michael went to the owner of a local farm shed and asked him to hire it out. He set up a shelter at the farm shed and immediately set about organising food and cooks for the people living in the giant haystacks. The poverty was out of this world." Michael's beloved street children THANKS to the people of Lurgan and further afield Michael McGoldrick and United Christian Aid have a feeding shelter for the street children of Transnistria. As his widow Bridie said: "The Russians came here and never left. The street children are fed every day with a good hot meal and our volunteers here are paid. Some of the women cook for free because their children also get fed and some walk up to 14kms each day for their food. "The feeding centre has two sittings with children ranging from three to seventeen enjoying their main meal of the day." Michael McGoldrick's Street children are alive thanks to his dedication in getting funds to feed and clothe them. Many have slept rough in the sewers and when he met up with them in October last some were collecting walnuts to supplement their diet. "My Michael was filled with the Holy Spirit and God was his leader," said Bridie. "We both love God for his love for us and not for our fear of hell. Michael and I came down to our room to pray each morning. Michael did not talk the talk nor walk the walk, he lived the life," stressed Bridie. "Neither of us had one enemy in the world, and the people were grief stricken in Moldova when Michael died so suddenly. I talked to him at 5.30am on the day he died just as he was going to theatre. He told me he loved me just like our son Michael did on the last time he saw us before he was murdered. "My husband truly believed if people and all the politicians put God first before everything then everything else would fall into place. "You cant talk of your love for God and then hate your neighbour. I know that the grace that God gave us was in abundance to enable us forgive the murderer of our only son. "I want to see United Christian Aid carry on its work and look after the children. At first Michael started his work in Romania and continued the programme there until 2002 and it was then that the EU gave Romania money to help their poor and we decided then to move to Moldova. "Michael used to say I am very fortunate to do what I do because God lets me see the goodness in people and there are very few who get the chance to witness goodness at first hand. www.lurgantoday.co.uk
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