The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin has said that the “witness and martyrdom of so many persecuted Christians around the world…reminds us of the importance of advocating for freedom of conscience and religion.” He was speaking at a Mass on Sunday in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, in which he remembered the bombings in Sri Lanka last week in which more than 250 people were killed, mostly while attending Mass.

The victims were also remembered in the Pro-Cathedral Dublin yesterday at a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. The congregation included President Michael D Higgins, the Taoiseach’s Aide-de-Camp, Commandant Caroline Burke, and members of the Irish Sri Lankan community.

Archbishop Martin told the congregation of his shock at “the terrible violence that hit the Sri Lankan nation”.

“Naturally, as Catholic Christians we remember in a special way our own Christian brothers and sisters who were among the prime targets and victims of the violence.  May God grant them eternal rest and peace,” he said.

Dr Lal Fernando, who is an assistant professor in the Irish School of Ecumenics, spoke of how his sister, who is a primary school teacher in Negombo, saw seven of her pupils killed in the attack, along with 18 of their family members.

When he spoke with his sister, he said she was “weeping inconsolably as she with her staff members, desperately attempted to identify the lifeless and disfigured bodies of her pupils”.