Cork Man to Receive Award for Four Decades of Caring for Air India Victims' Graves

Finbarr Archer, the official driver to the Lord Mayor of Cork, will be honoured this weekend by an Indian cultural group for his extraordinary 40-year commitment to tending the graves of two victims from the 1985 Air India disaster.

The Cork Sarbojonin Durgotsab (CSD) will present Mr Archer with its inaugural Shamrock Lotus Award on Saturday during Durga Puja celebrations at Ballincollig GAA Club. The honour recognises what the group describes as his "extraordinary compassion, humanity and service to society" in caring for the burial site of Annu Alexandra and her daughter Rena.

All 329 passengers and crew aboard Air India flight 182 perished when a bomb exploded as the aircraft flew 190 kilometres off Ireland's southwest coast on 23 June 1985. The flight was travelling from Montreal to Delhi when terrorists struck, claiming lives that were predominantly of Indian descent.

Among the 132 bodies recovered from the tragedy were those of Annu Alexandra and her young daughter Rena. Their husband and father, along with Annu's son, were never found. Mr Archer, then working for a Cork undertaker, was documenting the recovered victims when he discovered that no family members had come forward to claim Annu and Rena's bodies.

Realising the mother and daughter would have no one to visit their final resting place, Mr Archer took it upon himself to ensure they were not forgotten. They were buried together in St Michael's Cemetery in Blackrock, and he has maintained their grave ever since. Each year on the anniversary of the disaster, he organises a commemorative ceremony at their graveside.

The CSD, whose name combines "Sarbojonin" (meaning for everyone irrespective of background) and "Durgotsab" (Festival of Goddess Durga), selected Mr Archer for their first-ever award to mark this year's Durga Puja, one of Hinduism's major festivals.

A CSD spokesperson said:

"This year, we are honoured to recognise Mr Finbarr Archer, whose gentle care and remembrance for the family of Annu Alexander, lost in the Air India Flight 182 tragedy for four decades, have been a light of kindness in Ireland."

The group added that the award reflects "unwavering dedication, compassion, and humanity that inspire our entire Indian community" and embodies "the spirit of selfless service, community bonding and the profound impact one individual can have in honouring others."

The CSD concluded:

"May this award, uniting the shamrock of Ireland and the lotus of India, forever remind us that kindness knows no borders and remembrance has no end."

The presentation will take place during Saturday's cultural programme at Ballincollig GAA Club, celebrating the continued bonds between Cork's Irish and Indian communities through four decades of quiet compassion.