OBE medal. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. Msgr Peter O’Reilly and Dean Kenneth Hall have been named in the King’s Birthday Honours List and received an OBE award for reconciliation and peacebuilding in Enniskillen and Co. Fermanagh.
Humbled by the honour, they emphasised the role that their communities played. “While our names appear in the citation, we see this recognition as belonging to many people across our community,”they told The Irish Catholic.
St Macartin’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church are facing each other on opposite sides of the street. As a result, Msgr O’Reilly and Dean Hall preach the importance of “unity” and “bringing people together”. They stated, “For us the street is not simply what separates; it is what connects us.”
“Looking back, we realise that much of our work has not been about creating a new reality but about recognising one that already exists. Our role has simply been to encourage and give visibility to the goodwill, neighbourliness and friendship that already exist within this community,” they explained.
Msgr O’Reilly explained that the two were drawn to each other through their shared values, morals and belief in authenticity. As they both grew up in the years of the Troubles, they wanted to pursue lives that were dismissive of division and encourage reconciliation.
That very street was visited by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2012, and both men jointly hosted her in a public show of unity. Later, after her visit, Msgr O’Reilly and Dean Hall were welcomed to the Diamond Jubilee Reception at Buckingham Palace.
Among their interactions with royalty and political leaders, the pair have held church forum meetings, joint services and have endeavoured to harmonise two communities for over 15 years now.