Irish child abuse
A silent march took place in Dublin in the wake of the controversial Ryan Report on the seriousness and scale of child abuse in Ireland’s religious institutions.
Primarily focusing on the Catholic Church, but encompassing other organisations too, the Ryan Report showed that 216 religious foundations had committed or condoned child abuse over more than 60 years.
Thousands of people took part in the silent march, which went from the historic Parnell Square to the Dail, the political Assembly of the Republic of Ireland. The Dail was to have debated the findings of the report, but this had been postponed, to the dismay of victims and affected families.
The marchers carried children’s shoes and wore white ribbons, to remember children who had died in these institutions. They also brought a petition that stated: ‘We, the people of Ireland, join in solidarity and call for justice, accountability, restitution and repatriation for the unimaginable crimes committed against the children of our country by religious orders in 216 institutions’.
