"He showed me a verse from The Qur'an which alludes to Christians and Jews and says ‘Whoever believes and does good, they shall have their reward.' That made me want to learn more about Islam.”
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| Imam Ibrahim Noonan at a recent lecture to young people on Islam. Photo: Galway Advertiser |
Source/Credit: Galway Advertiser
By Charlie McBride | April 27, 2017 (LT)
'Galway was a friendly, spiritual, city, so I decided to remain here' -- Imam Noonan
In 2014, Galway saw the opening of its first mosque - the Mosque of Mary on the Old Monivea Road, Ballybrit. It was erected by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community which is headed by Imam Ibrahim Noonan, a man with strong faith and a fascinating life story as I discovered when meeting him for an afternoon chat in the House Hotel.
As his surname suggests, Ibrahim is Irish. He was born Michael Noonan in Waterford in 1965. His mother’s family came from Wales and his relations on that side included horse breeders, eminent musicians, and painters. His paternal relations came from Tipperary and Cork and produced more horse breeders, 1916 veterans, and ASll-Ireland winning footballers.
“My dad was from Cork and a builder and my mum was a graphic designer and artist,” Ibrahim tells me. “There were things that influenced me from both sides of the family. On my dad’s side they were hardcore Republican and my mum’s side were soft, upper-middle class, and rational, and I have both those strands infused in me.”
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