Cassidy's Pub in Dublin, Ireland visited by

President Clinton in 1995.

I.  Eva Cassidy

        Eva Cassidy died tragically of melanoma at the age of 33 in 1996.  Who was Eva Cassidy?  She was vocalist largely unknown outside of the Washington, D.C. area where she lived.  Painfully shy and thoroughly uncompromising, Cassidy spent the bulk of her brief professional life playing for a loyal following in Washington nightclubs, painting and gardening -- her two other passions -- by day. 

           While it is not unusual for an established artist's career to accelerate following his or her death, it is exceptionally rare for the same to occur for an obscure artist.  But that is what has occurred based upon word of mouth and reviews for her album entitled Songbird, released posthumously in April 1998 by Blix Street, a small, independent record label in Los Angeles.  Songbird is an anthology of cover tracks highlighting Cassidy's vocal range from jazz to blues to rock, including powerful renditions of Sting's "Field of Gold," Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," and ending with a version of "Over the Rainbow" that will forever change your perceptions of the song.

        Cassidy did not write many original songs.  Her talent lay in interpretation, in a mastery of emtional redefinition of a song and in finding her path to the heart of the song often missing from its original recording.  One critic observed, "Cassidy had a voice that would silence a bar and make pool players set down their cues.  She was developing a body of work that could have grown into the voice of a generation." 

        The following are some descriptions of Eva Cassidy's voice and reviews of Songbird:

        "There is no denying Cassidy's musical gifts:  an astonishingly broad interpretative range, her natural feel for phrasing, and the clean, clear beauty of her voice.  With an intense purity of tone matched by an equally intense purity of emotion, Cassidy gave songs new life, even as hers was slipping away.  Many thought she was black, so soulful was her way with a melody."

        "Her gorgeous voice defies labels, and Songbird is a moving tribute to the late singer."

        "Listening to Songbird makes me feel as though I'm walking into a room of people who have all just lost a talented friend."

        "Quite simply, the selections on Songbird are all flawlessly performed -- passionate and powerful without a hint of Star Search-style showing off, shot through with melancholy but never syrupy, and with a stunning instinct for dramatic phrasing.  It's easy to be suspicious of posthumous raves for a promising artist who has passed on too young, but list to this album once and you aren't likely to think I've exaggerated."

        On a personal note, at my wedding in 2001, my wife Amy and I selected the song "Songbird" as the song for the last dance of the night. There is such emotional power to Eva Cassidy's voice, and lyrics of "Songbird" express the tenderness between two people in love "like never before."  For a series of outstanding articles on Eva Cassidy's life and music, from an article written the same month she died to one five years later, visit www.EvaCassidy.org created by her cousin Laura Cassidy Bligh.

II.  Cardinal Edward Cassidy

        Born in 1924 in Sydney, Australia, Cardinal Edward Cassidy had a career described as "brilliant."   Ordained at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney in 1949, by the early 1950's Cardinal Cassidy was sent to Rome to study Cannon Law at the Lateran University, and was never to return to Australia for any extended period.  Instead, Cardinal Cassidy joined the Vatican's diplomatic corps.  His postings included stays in India, Ireland (from 1962-1967), El Salvador, Argentina, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Burma, South Africa and The Hague in the Netherlands.

        In the 1990's through 2001, Cardinal Edward Cassidy served as president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.  He was also president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.  Cardinal Cassidy is one of only two Australian cardinals -- "Two is plenty," he has observed -- within the Roman Catholic Church. 

        Discussing his lifetime living abroad, Cardinal Cassidy observed, "When you're in a country for a few months, you feel that you could write a book about the place.  After a year, you think you might be able to write an article. After a few years, you realize that you could never understand the place."

        Cardinal Cassidy's career at the Vatican was not without its challenges.  In 1988, he returned to Rome and was named Sostituto or Substitute Secretary of State, making Cardinal Cassidy the third highest ranking prelate in the church, a post he held for just one year before his appointment to his present positions.  The sostituto post is traditionally held by an Italian. The position generally controls much of what the pope sees.  As noted by one reporter, Cardinal Cassidy's genial but blunt-spoken manner and his penchant for telling it like it is was found unacceptable in the Vatican's world of subtlety and indirection.

        Among his activities over the previous few years, Cardinal Cassidy formally signed in June 1999 an accord on behalf of the Vatican with the Lutheran World Federation closing the 500 year old gap between the two faiths on their beliefs on the means of obtaining salvation.  The same month, he served as the Pope's special envoy and principal celebrant for the funeral mass of the Cardinal Basil Hume, the former leader of Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom, whose funeral was attended by over 500 clergy, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Premier Bertie Ahern. 

        Cardinal Cassidy was also active on the Church's Jubilee Year 2000.  He spoke during the Pope's Day of Pardon Mass on March 12, 2000 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where he confessed the sins by Catholics against the Jews:  "Let us pray that, in recalling the sufferings endured by the people of Israel throughout history, Christians will acknowledge the sins committed by not a few of their number against the people of the Covenant and the blessings, and in this way will purify their hearts."

Note:  This summary of Cardinal Cassidy's career is based in part upon an article in the National Catholic Reporter, "Cassidy's Open Ears a Sign of Hope for Dialogue," dated May 14, 1999.

III.  Dr. Sheila Cassidy

        Born in 1937 in Lincolnshire, England, Sheila Cassidy is the daughter of Air Vice Marshall John Reginald Cassidy, who played a central role in Great Britain's telecommunications industry during World War II.  At the age of 10, the family moved to Australia and lived on a chicken farm during her teenage years.  By 15, she realized she wanted to be a doctor and returned to England to pursue her studies at Somerville College, Oxford. 

        A continent away though, in South America in the early 1970's, Dr. Cassidy's life was forever changed.  In 1971, Dr. Cassidy traveled to Santiago, Chile to further her medical training.  It was a time of revolutionary change in Chile, that was shattered by the September 11, 1973 military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.  Asked by a priest to treat a man who had been shot, and who could not go to the hospital for fear of arrest, Dr. Cassidy provided aid.   The injured man turned out to be the second in command of the left wing forces.  

        Within a week, Dr. Cassidy herself was arrested by Chilean authorities.  Imprisoned for 59 days, she was stripped, tied to a bed and tortured with electric shocks.  The torture was followed by solitary confinement, and ultimately expulsion from Chile.  Her treatment and other human rights abuses resulted in the British government withdrawing its ambassador from Chile.  

        In the years that followed, Dr. Cassidy suffered a hidden life of insomnia, depression, exhaustion and fear.  At the same time, her experiences led her to become an outspoken advocate for human rights and an author of seven books on her experiences and Christianity, including Audacity to Believe (1977) and Sharing the Darkness : The Spirituality of Caring (1992).  

        One reviewer of Sharing the Darkeness wrote:  "Sheila Cassidy's intent in writing this book was to discuss what draws people to work with dying patients.  Much of the book, however, is self-revelation, as she explores her own messy, misdirected spiritual path, sincere and devout, but frequently meeting failure.  I found myself feeling quite cheerful while reading her book.  How nice to read about the spiritual strugglings of another, and how encouraging to see that she has attained a depth of spirituality many people never reach, in spite of all her flaws.  There's hope for the rest of us who sincerely want to live a spiritual life, but could never emulate the self-sacrifice of a Mother Teresa."

        In her lectures, Dr. Cassidy juxtaposes the off-beat and the profound, mixing jokes about religion and her mistakes with the importance of faith.  While held in solitary confinement, in her own words, she "celebrated a do-it-yourself Eucharist with bread and water and made an awesome consonant with God to do what He or She wanted for the rest of my life."

        While still lecturing around the world and leading conferences on justice and human rights, Dr. Cassidy found her true calling was being a doctor.  For 11 years she served as the medical director of a hospice, mainly treating cancer patients.  More recently, the focus of her work has been on the psychological needs of patients and their families.  In 1996 in Plymouth, England, Dr. Cassidy founded Jeremiah's Journey, a program for helping bereaved children.

        Dr. Cassidy has been a supporter of the Cassidy Clan, and attended the 1995 rally.

Note:  This summary of Dr. Cassidy's life relies upon an April 8, 1999 article in the Irish Times entitled "Seeking Only Resolution."