RSS
News


Home Page > News > Pressure increases for details on memorial to abuse victims

Pressure increases for details on memorial to abuse victims

Designer of memorial to be announced in June

By
KERRY O'SHEA,
IrishCentral Intern
Published Monday, January 2, 2012, 4:50 AM
Updated Friday, January 13, 2012, 10:44 AM

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail
comment on article 5 Comments
See more: News from Ireland  

Justice Sean Ryan
Justice Sean Ryan
Photo by NewStatesman


A memorial for the victims of institutional abuse in Ireland was proposed by Justice Sean Ryan as part of the May 2009 report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. Now, details for the €500,000 memorial are planned to be released next summer.
 
The Irish Examiner reports that as part of his recommendation, Justice Ryan asked that the 1999 apology from then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern be inscribed in the memorial. In his apology, Ahern offered condolences to those who were abused while in the care of the State.
 
In October 2009, only a few months after Justice Ryan’s report, a committee was announced by the then Minister of Education, Batt O’Keefe, to oversee the construction of the memorial. The Office of Public Works (OPW) was asked to commission and deliver it with a €500,000 budget set aside, reports The Irish Examiner.
 
The memorial committee, chaired by former OPW chairman Sean Benton, is comprised of abuse representatives and those with architectural backgrounds. Included on the committee are Bernadette Fahy and Paddy Doyle, representing survivors of abuse, Seán Ó Laoire of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, Monica Corcoran of the Arts Council, and former Cork county architect Billy Houlihan. 
___________
Read More:
 
Irish dance teacher sued over seven years of sexual abuse
 
Tear down statute of limitations on cases of sexual abuse of children
 
Final chapter of Cloyne Report unearths more damning evidence of cover up by Bishop and police
___________
 
After consulting with interested parties and abuse survivors about the design, location, and nature of the planned memorial, a design competition was launched this past July. An international jury selected a shortlist of six contenders for the final design of the anticipated memorial.
 
Serving on the jury to decide are Marta Santos Pais, special representative of the UN secretary-general on violence against children; Brian O’Doherty, sculptor and film-maker based in New York; Pat Cooney, OPW principal architect; and Vivienne Roche, co-founder of the National Sculpture Factory, Cork. 
 
Just yesterday, the Department of Education said that they expect to have a final winner chosen to design the memorial by June of 2012, just more than three years after the initial recommendation was made.
 
The costs for the new project could well reach €100 million, wrote The Irish Examiner, after the finalisation of all legal costs of third parties who were represented in its investigations and hearings. The State’s bill of compensation to those victims of institutional abuse is set to hit €1.1 billion, with almost 13,500 awards made to the end of 2010.

​
See more: News from Ireland , Sexual abuse
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


5 Comments

See all comments

IrelandNorth | Jan 04, 2012, 07:18 AM EST
Ireland is a island nation already creaking under the weight of excessive memorials. As long as it is not just an excuse for a certain procrastination dynamic in the Irish to avoid doing anything concrete about the problem. The whole nation should be offered free therapy.

Report abuse

stephen1553 | Jan 04, 2012, 01:49 AM EST
This is brilliant. I only wish I had thought of it. I will forward it to several anti abuse / healing groups of which I am aware.........................Let it stand not only to honor those children who suffered at the hands of the church, but as a reminder forever of what happens when ............POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY............So much for church and papal power - over the ages.

Report abuse

proudirishlass | Jan 03, 2012, 09:05 AM EST
We should never forget so hopefully it wont happen again. Money well spent in my opinion.

Report abuse

joan1954 | Jan 02, 2012, 11:00 AM EST
And the country is broke!!! While I understand the issue will Brussels (aka France and Germany) allow their bailout money to be used this way. After all Ireland you take their money to keep you afloat and you spend it like this.

Report abuse

CaptainCon | Jan 02, 2012, 10:06 AM EST
Should be nailed to the door of every church in Ireland.

Report abuse

 


IrishCentral logo
"Like" IrishCentral
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or Sign-Up directly

Already Registered? Sign-In!

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Already Registered? Sign-In!
Forgot my password

Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
submit to reddit
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail