A 16 acre plot of land in North Clare is to become a place of healing and pilgrimage for anyone who was affected by the failures in the CervicalCheck Screening Programme in Ireland.
The 221+ Patient Support Group has come together with artists Fiona Whelan and John Conway, and North Clare nature charity Hometree to create the Forest that Won’t Forget, situated close to Inchicronan Lough.
The 221+ group purchased the plot with mature native Irish woodland as a public artwork and an ‘anti-monument’, or a space of healing and resistance that aims to uphold the legacies of those affected by historic injustices in women’s healthcare in Ireland.
This ambitious project focusses on 221+ member’s lived experiences and stories and the desire of members to memorialise the losses they have experienced.
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Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and podcaster who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.