New plaque marks remembrance garden

THE 10th anniversary of the creation of Ennis’ remembrance garden for parents and families who have lost a child or children has been marked this week with the erection of a plaque at the Cloughleigh garden.
The plaque, created by local artist Shane Gilmore, has been placed on the wall beside the garden, which is known for its statue of a child holding a butterfly.
It is hoped that more people will become aware of what the garden represents and that parents who have lost a child will receive comfort from the garden.
The plaque, erected by the Bereaved Parents’ Association, has been inscribed in both English and Irish with the words ‘Created and developed by bereaved parents in memory of our beloved children’.
Anne McCullagh, who was among the parents instrumental in the creation of the garden, said she and the rest of the Bereaved Parents’ Association are delighted that the importance of the garden will be recognised with the plaque.
“This is a very special moment for us after 10 years to have this plaque put in place. This is a garden of remembrance for ourselves as bereaved parents and for every bereaved parent out there. This is to remember every child, regardless of their age. We always felt this garden needed some official signature to mark what this garden is all about so we decided to get some money together ourselves.
“This plaque will let people who are passing through the garden know what it represents because many people don’t realise that it is a garden of remembrance. This plaque is important because we’ll soon be passing on so we want future generations to know what this garden is for and we hope that parents come and get comfort from this garden.”
She went on to say the grief suffered following the loss of a child can be difficult for those who have not been through it to understand. She also said the garden is an effort towards providing some support for those who have been through this tragic loss.
“Unless you have been through something like this it’s difficult to understand. I’m in my 21st year of loss and grief. The grief is always there. It never goes away. On Sunday there was a remembrance mass in the Cathedral for those who had lost children. Fr Tom did a marvellous job with it. There was one young lady telling her sad, sad tale of having more than one miscarriage but there was joy at the end of it. However, it was amazing that I heard some negative things said by those who had not been bereaved. They were saying this was no place for telling a story like that because this kind of loss is so misunderstood. They were uncomfortable but personally, we felt the mass was beautiful, comforting and consoling,” said Anne.
Helena O’Dowd, another member of the association, added, “Losing a child is the most unnatural thing in the world. There is a saying that when you lose a parent you lose the past but when you lose child, you lose a future. It’s not the order of things for your child to go before you.”
The association is also optimistic that by highlighting the meaning behind the garden, it will be respected. The garden has been badly vandalised in the past, with the sculpture’s hands and head broken. According to Anne, the sculpture has not been targeted in recent times and there are plans underway to complete repairs to the artwork.
“There haven’t been any problems with vandalism since the hands were damaged but there have been people picking the flowers and they are scarce enough as it is. Some of the plants have been donated to the garden by parents in memory of their children so it’s a shame that people have been picking the flowers. We’re hoping that by seeing the plaque people will realise what this garden means and respect it more,” said Anne.
Shane Gilmore commented, “I was delighted to be asked to get involved with this project and I’m very happy with how the finished plaque turned out.”
The Bereaved Parents’ Association is always open to new members and donations are always welcome. For support or to give a donation, contact the helpline on 065 6820024.