New York firefighter with Moynalty roots on cycle in memory of 9/11 colleagues

A New York firefighter who recently discovered his ancestral roots in Meath last week led a three-day cycle from Dublin to Cork in memory of colleagues who died in the September 11th terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers 23 years ago.

New York fire battalion chief, Danny Sheridan, whose great great grandfather emigrated from Maio, Moynalty, in 1867, was accompanied by 45 American firefighters, who were joined by some 50 Irish firemen in the cycle from the American Ambassador's residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, to Ringfinnan Garden of Remembrance in Cork, established by an Irish nurse who treated victims on that fateful day.

Cork woman Kathleen Murphy had been working as a nurse in Manhattan for four decades when the terrorist attack occurred. Since 9/11, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has held an annual cycle to raise funds for the families of those who died in the terrorist attack, and this year, for the first time, the cycle is being held outside the US, 32 years on from a conversation Danny had with his late colleague, Pete McLoughlin.

The FDNY men both had Irish roots and talked of one day cycling across the country and visiting the homeland of their ancestors. However, Pete died while fighting a fire in Queens, New York, in October 1995.

The American firefighters are raising funds for Friends of Firefighters in NYC, which provides independent, confidential, and free mental health counselling and wellness services to active and retired FDNY firefighters and their families.

The Irish crew are raising money for Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, the Dunboyne-based organisation which helps children and their families during their battle with cancer, providing the necessary support to allow the family to focus on their wellbeing, their support of each other, and the treatment and recovery of their child.

Last week, after the cycle, Danny Sheridan expressed amazement at the welcome that the crew had received here in Ireland. “We got in contact with Steve McFadden and Declan Byrne of the Irish firefighters association, and the plan eventually came together,” he says.

The NY battalion chief has been in the fire service for some 38 years, and says he is probably nearing retirement. He lost 343 colleagues in that tragedy, and a total of 370 all together, with 9/11 related illnesses.

“Too many to count,” he says. Danny wasn't on duty the day of the attack, but arrived on the site the following day to help with the rescue mission, which became a recovery mission, and was working on that sad process until the following March.

He knew he had Irish roots, particularly in Longford through the Kiernans in the Granard area, but only in the last few years discovered his Meath ancestry, through genealogist Catherine McCormack.

“My great great grandfather, James, left Maio, Moynalty, in 1867,” he says. He has since met his Moynalty relations, including Gerry Sheridan who now lives in Navan, and who says that there is a gathering planned for the Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells next year. “We had a reunion in 2020, before we had any contact from Danny, so we plan on getting together again next year, and look forward to welcoming him and his family back,” Gerry says.

Members of the Sheridan and Kiernan families attended the launch of the cycle and met Danny at Ambassador Claire Cronin's reception at the Phoenix Park last week.