Ireland's OWN: Human Rights Activist, Eric Schreffler

27 May 2005
In Memory of Eric Schreffler, age 26, who passed away on May 24, 2005
—by Míchealín Ní Dhochartaigh

Eric Schreffler, age 26, passed away on May 24, 2005. He was a dear friend. Eric was a poet, an artist, a seer…and like most artistic people, his heart and emotions were closer to the surface than the average person; and the bleak, despicable realities of this thing we call living were all too real for him.

Some of us use religion, some of us use pain, some of us use drugs and some of us create our own netherworld We shared a love for Ireland and we shared a love for the honour and bravery of Che Guevara in which to escape. But escape is always temporary, especially when you have a heart like Eric’s. He was a strong supporter of equal rights, socialism and the Irish cause. He worked hard to try to educate those around him about the evils of imperialism and he worked hard to combat human rights abuses wherever they occurred. He was a man far beyond his 26 years.

I have known Eric since 1998 when he first contacted me to express his interest in the Irish cause. And when he was incarcerated for a short while, his mother contacted me and asked me if I would write to him. I did. And that was the beginning of what became a very intense, passionate friendship. We shared a love for Ireland and we shared a love for the honour and bravery of Che Guevara. In Memory of Eric Schreffler

I will always hold Eric’s memory close to my heart. Eric's poems appear on Ireland’s OWN website , and I have some of his artwork, which I will try to put on the site in the near future. I extend deepest sympathy to his family at this time; especially to his mother, Bonnie, for whom I have always had the utmost respect. Eric loved her immensely; and from what he told me of her, she is a courageous, strong, loving woman.

I wish I could have been a better friend to Eric. I talked to him by phone several times this past year, and we exchanged some emails. But I was so wrapped up in the stressfulness of my life these past few months, that I know I wasn’t there for him like I could have been. I will always regret the phone calls I didn’t return, the emails I didn’t answer; I will always wonder, “what if?”…What if I had been less self absorbed in my own problems, and more responsible as a friend? Could I have said or done something that would have helped to keep Eric with us? I don’t know. But you never know when you will lose someone...

Eric sent me a Celtic stained glass design last August; he said it was to thank me for being a friend. I hung it on my Yuletide tree this year. Next year when I place it on the tree, it will have a deeper meaning. The Celtic design he sent was three interlocking circles, which for the Celtic people symbolizes life, death and rebirth. I hope Eric has found sanctuary; and I hope he is reborn in peace.

See the Photos section of Irish Republican Army E-group — http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/republicanarmy/lst — Photos #65-66 for a Memorial Card Eric’s mother sent.

See Also:

Also, please visit the Guest Book for Eric J. Schreffler: http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?Id=GB03582795X