Dublin, January 28, 2025. In an emotional ceremony held at the Cuban embassy, the national coordinator of the Solidarity Forum with Cuba in Ireland, Comrade Marie Barry, received from the ambassador the “Medal of Friendship”, awarded by the Council of State, through Presidential Decree 981, signed by President Miguel Díaz-Bermúdez, on September 17.
Accompanied by her children, Irish friends, including deputies from the Sinn Féin party, Cuban residents and members of the Diplomatic Mission, on the occasion of the 172nd anniversary of the birth of the Apostle, José Martí, the event began with the national anthems of both countries, followed by the words of the Cuban ambassador, Bernardo Guanche Hernández and the reading of a letter sent to Marie Barry by the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Fernando González Llort.
In the letter, the Hero of the Republic of Cuba remembers the role played by Marie, as President of the Committee for the Liberation of the Five Heroes, during the 16 years. It also highlights, among other examples, the presence of the comrade in the campaign for the nomination of the “Henry Reeve” medical brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize, the shipment of significant quantities of medical supplements, using containers and the well-known “Red Bags”, taken to Cuba as part of the luggage of supportive Irish people. Almost at the end of the document, comrade Fernando quotes José Martí when he pointed out that: “For all sorrows, friendship is a sure remedy.”
For her part, Marie Barry thanked her for the decoration, ratifying her commitment to continue fighting against the blockade and the exclusion of Cuba from the List of Countries Sponsoring Terrorism, among other causes in defense of the Cuban Revolution.
When speaking, the Cuban diplomat thanked the Solidarity Movement in Ireland for its actions, one of whose organizations Marie Barry coordinates. He noted that Cuba greatly appreciates the effort they have made to send containers and red bags with medical supplies to our hospitals. Also the extraordinary effort of the Communist Party and other organizations to make financial donations to help confront the cruel blockade and reject Cuba's permanence on the aforementioned List. For this reason, he stated, there would be no better day than January 28, to pay tribute to someone who, like Marie Barry, has made solidarity with Cuba one of the most important meanings of her life.