Message To Margaret Campaign (Margaret Keane Gravestone Case)

You may have read about a recent case in England where the Ecclesiastical Court of the Church of England in Coventry refused permission for the family of Margaret Keane to include an inscription in Irish on her gravestone without translation. The stated grounds were that such an inscription could be interpreted as a slogan or a political statement.

The inscription the family want for their mother’s gravestone is in ár gcroíthe go deo (‘in our hearts forever’). They have appealed the decision and will run a campaign from 14^th – 24^th February (the date of the Appeal) to gain support. Read on to see how you can help the campaign, Message to Margaret / @My_Mums_Voice.

The campaign is supported by Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and Aontas na Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge, among others.

For more information on the case:

Fiona Audley in the Irish Post: https://bit.ly/375tw0y

Martina Devlin in the Independent: https://bit.ly/3aXI9Ee

Suggestions from the family on how you can support Message to Margaret

Social media (14^th – 24^th Feb)

• You can post a message on social media – a message of solidarity, a song, poem, or anything you’d like!
• We’d encourage these from the 14^th February to the 24^th February
• Please use the hashtag #MessageToMargaret so people can follow and see the responses, and tag our Twitter handle @My_Mums_Voice
• Also follow and share any of the posts from @My_Mums_Voice

Tuesday 23^rd Feb at 7pm – light a candle with #MessageToMargaret

• We’re asking as many people as possible to light a candle at 7pm on 23^rd Feb, and post a photo of the candle with any message you’d like on social media using the #MessageToMargaret hashtag
• As an example, if you search #JohnsLight on Twitter you can see similar posts for John Hume from last summer
• It will be a way for all of us to be together, at a time when we are forced apart

Tuesday 16^th Feb at 6.30pm – join a discussion hosted by the Labour Party Irish Society

• The Labour Party Irish Society are hosting a public discussion at 6.30pm on 16^th Feb
• The panel includes members of our family, our legal teams, Conradh na Gaeilge, as well as the Chair of the Irish in Britain APPG Conor McGinn MP and the leader of the Social Democratic & Labour Party Colum Eastwood MP who was also at the AGM in November discussing the legacy of John Hume.
• It is open to all, free to join, and the link to register with more information is here which you are welcome to share with anyone who you think might be interested: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdV7aCDD_8ygWVVQLMkTMm7VXkd_VYf6JX8B5Vpj3Q4bjzW3g/viewform

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann Statement in support of the Message to Margaret Appeal