AN IRISH woman has died in New York from apparent exposure to the cold after she slept rough outside a church in Manhattan.
The body of Grace Farrell (35), who had spent more than half her life in the US having moved there when she was 17, was discovered on Sunday morning in an alcove of St Brigid’s Church, which was founded by Irish immigrants in the 1840s.
Her body was discovered by another homeless person. If her death is attributed to exposure, Ms Farrell will become the first person to have died from the cold in New York so far this winter.
According to reports, Ms Farrell, originally from Cork, arrived in the US in 1993 with a plan to study art but ended up homeless. She had been sleeping rough in thin blankets on the night she died.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Ms Farrell’s death, adding that her body had been released to her mother, who is also resident in the United States. A spokesman for the department said that consular assistance has been offered to the woman’s family.
Orla Kelleher, executive director of the Aisling Irish Centre in Yonkers, New York, and a member of the Irish Volunteers for the Homeless organisation, said the homeless problem in the city was worsening due to the recession.
“We have seen a noticeable rise in the number of homeless people availing of our services this year. They would be people of all ages, from young people to people in their 60s,” she said.
“The majority of these people would not be Irish but in many cases when we are given the name of someone who may need our help, we find that it’s often refused.” Earlier this month, the New York’s homeless department counted 37,552 people in the city’s homeless shelters.