Cork vigil for the victims of Mother and Baby homes

A vigil was held in Cork last weekend in memory of those who died in Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene Laundries and Industrial Schools.

The event, organised by the Cork-Kerry Outreach group and Seline Brady, chaired by Sinn Féin councillor for the Cork City North West ward, Michelle Gould, took place at the Curraghkippane Cemetery in Clogheen on Sunday.

The event started at 2pm, with several speeches as well as some live music performance.

On the day of the event, Ms Gould delivered a reading of a poem, which she wrote herself; Adrian Brady delivered a reading of the poem, ‘Rulers and Rods’, and a live music performance was delivered by Catriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners and members of the High Hopes Choir.

Caroline Farry of Cork-Kerry Outreach also thanked Stephen Scully of Cork City Council for the work he and the local authority have done in conjunction with the HSE in securing funding and carrying out the necessary repair works which helped in the upgrading of the burial site.

A special mention was also given to Denis McSwiney, the cemetery registrar for his continuous work in Curraghkippane.

The event concluded with Ms Gould thanking everyone for attending, particularly a number of survivors and family members, as well as piper Donal Lynch who played a lament following the speeches.

This commemorative event was the first of its kind organised by Cork-Kerry Outreach, with another event planned for next year to unveil a memorial stone.