National Day of Mourning Initiative
Irish artists call for establishment of national day of mourning to remember children who died in mother and baby homes.
A group of prominent Irish artists, including singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey, is calling for the establishment of a national day of mourning to honor the memory of all children who died in religious and State-run institutions across Ireland. This initiative comes as the country's first ever mass exhumation continues in Tuam, where forensic experts are searching for the remains of 796 children who died in the former mother and baby home and were buried in a large underground septic tank.
The artists involved in this advocacy include Damien Dempsey, Dee Mulrooney, Laura Murphy, Aine Tyrell, Kathy Scott (creative director of The Trailblazery), and Sean Mulrooney. They are working together to ensure these children—and all others who died in similar institutions—are properly remembered through an official national observance.
Multidisciplinary artist Dee Mulrooney, known for the performance piece Growler, has proposed that the remembrance day take place on July 22, the feast of Mary Magdalene. She drew inspiration from the First Nations' ceremonies in Canada for children who died in similar circumstances. Mulrooney emphasizes the importance of bringing this matter into the open and creating a collective response as a nation.
Annette McKay, whose sister died in the Tuam home, welcomes the initiative and highlights that art plays a vital role in the healing process. She stresses that any memorial day must encompass all mother and baby homes, not just Tuam, as these burial sites represent only the beginning of a much larger historical tragedy.
This advocacy represents an important artistic and cultural response to a significant historical injustice, combining memorial activism with the healing power of art and collective remembrance.