A LIMERICK woman who is one of the leading members of the We Are Still Here group of survivors of the Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby home is calling on people to join in a poignant remembrance event.
And St Munchin’s College in Corbally will be standing behind the group’s candlelight tribute on World Children’s Day (November 20), lighting up 1,090 tea lights and 23 pillar candles for the babies and young women who died at Sean Ross Abbey.
Ann Connolly, one of the founding members of the group, who was herself born in Sean Ross Abbey, said the tribute at the former home in Roscrea on November 20 at 6pm “will honour the 1,090 babies and 23 young girls who died there”.
“We’ll be lighting 1,090 tea lights to represent each baby and 23 pillar candles for the young girls who also lost their lives. It will be a peaceful and dignified act of remembrance for those who were silenced and forgotten.”
The group is asking people in Limerick to take part by lighting a candle at 6pm that evening whether at home, in pubs, restaurants, shops, or workplaces to show their support and share a photo of their candle on social media or with the We Are Still Here survivor’s group on Facebook.
“We’ve also invited every school in Ireland to take part in their own way. Here in Limerick, St Munchin’s College in Corbally will be lighting 1,090 candles for the babies and 23 larger ones for the young girls, and they’ll be lighting up the college that evening in remembrance, a beautiful gesture that means a lot to all of us,” said Ann.
Ann noted that the tribute is “also a call for truth and action”.
“Survivors continue to urge the government to locate and recover the remains of the 1,090 babies who died at Sean Ross Abbey. Most have never been found, and their mothers are now elderly and still waiting for answers.”
“The candlelight tribute is our way of saying that these children must be found, named, and remembered”.