Song marks 40 years since tragic death of Ann Lovett, 15

A Cork singer has released a song to commemorate a tragedy that rocked Ireland 40 years ago and changed the country in ways that are still being felt today.

Ann Lovett, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, died on January 31, 1984, hours after giving birth to a stillborn baby boy at a grotto to the Blessed Virgin in Granard, Co Longford.

She had kept her pregnancy a secret, although some of her contemporaries would say after her death that it had been known to some in the town.

Ann’s death, and the death of her son, had a profound effect on the Ireland of 1984.

Ann was born on April 6, 1968, in Cobh General Hospital, the third-youngest of Diarmuid and Patricia Lovett’s nine children.

Since her death, Ann has been remembered in Paula Meehan’s 1991 poem ‘The Statue of the Virgin at Granard Speaks’, in Ciaran Creagh’s 2022 film Ann, and in Christy Moore’s song ‘Middle of the Island’, which has also been called ‘Ann Lovett’.

Now, Cork singer and songwriter Martin Leahy has released his own tribute, a heartfelt song called ‘Where We Lay Our Bodies Down (for Ann Lovett)’.

“Ann’s death represents a dark time in Ireland and her story is lodged deep in the national consciousness,” Mr Leahy told The Echo.

“When the story broke at the time, hundreds of letters were sent to The Gay Byrne Show in what became known as ‘The Ann Lovett Letters’. The letters contained an outpouring of untold stories by many Irish women who were inspired to write because of the tragedy.

“The radio programme said of the letters back then, ‘Time and again, they make the point that being able to write it all down is a relief. They thank Ann Lovett for giving them the courage to express what they have kept secret’,” Mr Leahy added.

The new song features Victoria Keating and Áine O’Gorman, on harmony vocals, and Martin Leahy on vocals, guitar, pedal steel, and drums.

Martin has received nationwide attention for his song about the housing crisis, ‘Everyone Should Have A Home’, which was released in April 2022. He has been travelling from Cork to Dublin every week to protest about the crisis by singing his song outside Leinster House.

‘Where We Lay Our Bodies Down (for Ann Lovett)’ is available to stream on Bandcamp and YouTube.