A vigil at the gates of Galway Cathedral will be held in solidarity with activists who will walk from Galway to Cork this weekend to remember children who died in two institutions ran by religious orders.
All are welcome at he candle-lit vigil outside the cathedral this Sunday, August 23, at 5pm.
The ‘From Tuam to Bessborough with Love’ commemorative walk, a 220-kilometre journey led by Anne Fahey Ronayne, will begin tomorrow, Friday, August 21, with the aim of reaching Cork from Galway by Sunday evening.
This three-day walk begins at the former St. Mary’s Mother and Baby Home in Tuam and concludes at the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork. It aims to honour the memory of the infants lost and missing at these sites.
To mark the journey’s end, a vigil will be held in Bessborough to welcome the walkers, while a sister gathering will take place at the gates of Galway Cathedral at 5pm this Sunday, August 23rd.
Organised by A Little Light of Love, campaigners are calling for the state to ensure the preservation of the Bessborough site through a compulsory purchase order.
Operated from 1922 to 1998 by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, it housed unmarried mothers and their children. A state inquiry found that 923 children died there, but the burial places of 859 children remain unrecorded, sparking ongoing protests against recent apartment construction approvals in Cork.
Members of the public are warmly invited to attend the vigil, and supporters are encouraged to wear yellow, bring signs, and carry candles to “share the light” in a display of solidarity and remembrance.
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