Father Mychal Judge is the focus of a documentary airing this Sunday. Judge was the gay Fire Department of New York chaplain killed during the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center. (AP Photo)

By DYLAN FOLEY

A documentary produced by Irish gay activist and New York City resident Brendan Fay on Father Mychal Judge, the Fire Department of New York chaplain who was killed during the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, has been accepted into the Irish Film Fleadh, a New York festival, and will be shown in Manhattan on Sunday, March 24.

Judge, a 68-year-old gay Franciscan friar, died while ministering to the firefighters he loved when the south tower collapsed on the morning of Sept 11.

"Mychal Judge had a heart as big as New York," said Fay. "His whole life journey was about living openly and honestly."

"A Month’s Mind" is a 45-minute documentary that covers Judge’s September memorial service. It is a raw, compelling video celebrating the life of the heroic priest. The Judge documentary is one of six videos produced by Fay’s Lavender & Green Alliance, an Irish group, on New York’s Irish gay population. The series is called "From Silence to Speech" and has aired on Manhattan Cable’s Channel 34.

"The video project has really been quite breathtaking," said Fay, a 43-year-old native of Drogheda, Ireland. "We now have some control over how we are represented. It allows us to think of the Irish gay community in a completely different way."

Included in the video series is "A First-Class Fairy," the story of Jim Reilly, an older gay rights campaigner, who was thrown out of the Navy in the 1960s. "They called me a ‘Grade B’ homosexual," said Reilly on video. "I have never been anything less than first class!"

Another documentary is "Remembering Robert," on early ACT UP leader Robert Rygor, who died of AIDS complications in 1994. Rygor’s parents address their past homophobia and mourn their son.

The Judge documentary was culled from more than three hours of taping at his service. "We didn’t plan to do a documentary, " said Fay. "I had no idea certain things would happen."

He added, "The documentaries were shot in digital video by our members. New projects will include work on the all-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Queens and on Irish people involved in the Stonewall riots."

Fay is a full-time activist, producing documentaries, running the Lavender & Green Alliance and teaching workshops on gay Irish history. He lives in Astoria with his lover Tommy Moulton, a pediatrician.

"From Silence to Speech" has been funded by the nonprofit Manhattan Neighborhood Network, which trained Lavender & Green in the use of digital video and computer editing, and paid for their video cameras.

"A Month’s Mind" will be shown at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, at the NYU Cantor Theater at 36 E. 8th St. Admission is $7.

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