The annual ‘Flowers for the Galway Magdalenes’ will take place this Sunday, September 13. The memorial will take place at a number of locations on the day, but people are invited to Bohermore Cemetery, assembling at the main gates at 2pm.
The event is organised by the ‘Flowers for the Women of Galway Magdalene Laundry’ group and has taken place annually since 2012, going online during the Covid years.
President Catherine Connolly has agreed to attend and give an address. The Flowers group states the Presidents involvement is “an enormous mark of respect to all victims of the Magdalene Laundries system and a fitting honour to the remaining survivors of those institutions and their families .”
The group also wish to acknowledge the award of a CAIRDE grant by Galway City Council towards this year’s commemorations.
There will be a respectful visit to the marked gravesides of those women of the Galway Magdalene Laundry known to be buried in Bohermore Cemetery. People are welcome to bring flowers to lay on the graves as the women’s names are read aloud.
In conclusion, there will be songs from Sharon Murphy and Caroline Stanley.
Dr Lorraine Grimes of the Galway group told the Advertiser that every year, the memorial provides an opportunity to remember the women and the abuses that they suffered here in Galway, and to give them the recognition and respect in death that the Church and State denied them during their lives.
The Galway Flowers group continues to campaign for justice for all women and girls who were incarcerated in Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries, and for their children and families. The group are currently involved in a campaign for part of the City Hall site on College Road to be used as a permanent memorial garden for all victims and survivors of institutional abuse in Galway, for the families and the general public to use.
Group member Dette Mc Loughlin said that a public green space in the city centre would “allow Galway to acknowledge this part of our living history, a place to remember, a place to learn, a place to find peace and heal. Only by such coming to terms with what happened in our midst can we try ensure that we do not allow such abuses to be inflicted on any individuals and families in our society again,” she concluded.
