Press Releases
LOVING MEMORIES FROM ARMAGH
Remembrance of Mercy Simms
Mercy Simms was a very special and talented person. She lived in Armagh from 1969 until 1980, years in which her husband George Simms held the highest office in the Church of Ireland, that of Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. George Simms, a man of great saintliness, gentleness and scholarship, paid public tribute to his wife when he said in a newspaper interview in 1977 "Mercy has been a real tower of strength to me".
She was a tower of strength and a true and caring friend to a great many people in the entire community. Their home, the fine Georgian Archbishop's Palace in Armagh, was a welcoming and friendly place. Their years in Armagh must never be dismissed as merely tragic years of grim duty amid the pain and violence of the community. George and Mercy Simms made a loving and positive contribution to the lives of many people. They shared fully and lovingly in the agonies and sorrows around them. They shared also much fun and happiness with their simple life-style and gentle yet incisive brands of humour.
Mercy loved to do very ordinary things like joining local societies, attending evening classes, cycling around the city or spending hours in the garden. Although essentially reserved, she had a great talent for conversation with anybody on seemingly any topic! Mercy Simms had a marvellous intellect, with an exploring mind. She was deeply perceptive and yet possessed of an almost child-like innocence. She could enter deep realms of thought but remain thoroughly practical. She had a great social conscience and concern for the under-privileged, being willing to become actively involved in practical help.
The width of her vision enabled her to make and maintain friendships with a wide variety of people and also to share in the world-wide work of church organisations such as the Girls' Friendly Society and the Mothers' Union.
Mercy Simms was a good wife and loving mother. She was a welcoming hostess and a caring friend. She was a gifted thinker and stimulating conversationalist. But through all these roles she was 'her own person', different, independent, talented and very special.
In Armagh we send our love to those who miss her most and we thank God for every remembrance of her.
RGH
Further information from:
THE CHURCH OF IRELAND PRESS OFFICE
Church of Ireland House
61 - 67 Donegall Street
Belfast BT1 2QH