SALT Spring/Summer 2015 Vol. 43 No. 3 | Page 6

Carrying on Family Legacy BVM Gwen Farry (Leontia)’s story is a different one. You could say that her fire for justice began long before she was born; it has been alive and burning strong in her family for generations. Gwen took that flame that had been passed down to her and she has been living a life dedicated to justice ever since. “We were supposed to be teaching them catechism, but I was more concerned with how they were living.” Gwen Farry, BVM: Journey of Justice by Mary Ellen Madden Many activists tell stories of their ‘conversion’ to the world of social justice—often an event or a series of events that made them realize that they would never be able to look at the world through the same lens ever again. Gwen Farry, BVM can be found championing the cause of many social justice issues. 6 | S A L T MAGAZINE Gwen remembers being conscious of justice issues at a young age because of her ancestral ties to justice that began in both Ireland and Montana. Her paternal grandmother owned a pub in Ballymote, Sligo, that served as a gathering place for members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and when the Black and Tans (Royal Irish constables) would come to raid the pub, Gwen’s grandmother would help the IRA members sneak out the back window. Gwen’s father would eventually begin his involvement with justice issues as a young adult when he was a bike messenger for the IRA. He was later asked to leave the seminary because the superiors had determined he did not have a vocation. In truth his IRA activity was seen as too radical. He was not able to return home, so he set out for Los Angeles, where he would eventually marry and begin his family. Gwen’s penchant for justice was also inherent in her mother’s side of the family. In Butte, Mont., and then in Park City, Utah, her maternal grandfather fought for workers’ rights as a miner. These experiences and more laid the foundation for Gwen’s childhood, where the values of equality, interfaith acceptance, and fighting for what you believed in were instilled in her and her siblings. During high school, Gwen’s sodality projects included visiting hospital patients and teaching catechism to children living in boxcars. “We were supposed to be teaching them catechism, but I was more concerned with how they were living,” she said. “These experiences pointed out the inequalities in our society and encouraged me to try to do something about it.”