Consistory Court of the Diocese of Coventry decision on the Margaret Keane memorial stone

Birmingham Irish • February 23, 2021

As an organisation, we can't imagine the pain felt over the last three years by the Keane family, as describing it as simply difficult would be a complete understatement.

Over this period of time, the family have been fighting for the right to have a Gaelic-only inscription of 'In ár gcroíthe go deo' ('forever in our hearts'), as an epitaph for Margaret's headstone, and due to their strength and determination, an appeal hearing took place on the 24th February 2021.

Margaret emigrated from County Meath to Coventry, where she raised her family and worked hard to give back to the community as a dinner lady in a local school. As well as contributing so much to the community, Margaret was incredibly proud of her Irish heritage and because of this, the above epitaph was chosen with an abundance of love and care by her family.

Since the dates of the February hearing were confirmed, the family created an incredible social media campaign using the hashtags '#MessageToMargaret' and #CountdownToCourt' where so many rallied around them to show an immense amount of support.

Amongst these were the Labour Party Irish Society who hosted a very successful online discussion, and were joined by legal teams, organisations, speakers and contributors, as well as individuals wanting to show their support for the family. Those wanting to show their support could also join with those who lit a candle on the eve of the hearing, and posted on social media at 7pm, using the hashtag 'MessageToMargaret'.

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