For security reasons, the event wasn't advertised. But that didn't stop people from turning up in their hundreds outside the US embassy in Dublin yesterday to commemorate those who died on September 11th last year.
Some came prepared, carrying bouquets and wreaths. Others arrived spontaneously. Where else to show solidarity, they said, or support for those who lost most?
When the time came, at 1.46 p.m., they stood still, a number holding hands, still more weeping. It was a ritual of remembrance played out throughout the country at churches, on streets and in private gatherings.
One of those to lay flowers outside the embassy gates was Ms Anita Wrynn, from Rathfarnham, whose "best friend", Christian Otto Regenhard (28), was among dozens of firefighters killed when the Twin Towers collapsed. "He was like my brother," she said. "I miss him."
Inside, the Taoiseach spoke of the events which "changed our world forever" and of the need to maintain "international solidarity . . . in the face of terrorism".
Flanked by the Stars and Stripes, flying at half-mast, Mr Ahern said it was vital "that we remain relentless in the pursuit of peace and security wherever it is absent or under threat".
The strong links between Ireland and the US were underlined by the embassy's chargé d'affaires, Ms Jane Benton Fort, who said 9/11 was not just an attack on America. "Every country can be threatened by terrorism. Every country has a responsibility to respond." She added that the Irish-American community - "a vital link between our two nations" - had been "grievously wounded" by the deaths in the New York fire and police services.
Their Irish counterparts marked their loss yesterday, with members of the Garda and Dublin Fire Brigade, as well as the American Legion, representing Irish servicemen in the US army, laying wreaths by the American flag. They included, most poignantly, a yellow bouquet in the shape of a fireman's helmet. Before the minute's silence, Fire Service piper Mr Ed Byrne played a lament for the dead.
Family members of Irish citizens who died in the Twin Towers were among those at the ceremony. They included Pádraig and Margaret McHugh, parents of Ann Marie McHugh (35), from Tuam, who worked in a strockbroking firm on the 89th floor of the South Tower.
Also present was Mr Finbar Coughlan, whose brother, Martin (53), was one of 150 carpenters working in the Twin Towers when they were attacked. Earlier, Mr Coughlan and his wife, Bridget, carried the gifts of bread and wine to the altar at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, where a commemorative Mass was held.
