Memorial Garden Service at Kilmore Quay
WREATHS to commemorate those lost at sea were
brought to the altar during mass in St Peter's Church, Kilmore
Quay, at the annual memorial ceremony which was held on Sunday 17
June 2007.
After the church ceremony a lone piper led a procession to the Memorial Trail and Garden at Forlorn Point, overlooking Ballyteigue Bay, where the wreaths were laid. New memorials, commemorating those lost in the recent Maggie B, Rising Sun, and Pere Charles tragedies, were unveiled in the Garden at this year's ceremony. Commissioner Mary Gallagher laid a wreath on behalf of our Service which was also represented by Sam Williams, retired Bosun. Sam is one of those who survived the sinking of the Irish Lights vessel SS Isolda when it was bombed by a German aeroplane on 19 December 1940. The six members of the crew who were killed in the attack are commemorated in the Memorial Garden.
The Memorial Trail, which is called the Journey of Hope, leads to the Garden, which is designed in the shape of a ship with a mast, ship's wheel, a compass fountain, the propellor from SS Lennox, lost off the Saltee Islands in 1916, and a vigil sculpture of two grieving figures.
The Garden is dedicated to the memory of those lost at sea, particularly those whose bodies were never recovered.
While not overtly religious, since its opening in 2001 the Garden has become a place of pilgrimage in which to remember loved ones lost at sea; a special place where family members can try to come to terms with their loss, which also represents a journey of hope for the living.
After the church ceremony a lone piper led a procession to the Memorial Trail and Garden at Forlorn Point, overlooking Ballyteigue Bay, where the wreaths were laid. New memorials, commemorating those lost in the recent Maggie B, Rising Sun, and Pere Charles tragedies, were unveiled in the Garden at this year's ceremony. Commissioner Mary Gallagher laid a wreath on behalf of our Service which was also represented by Sam Williams, retired Bosun. Sam is one of those who survived the sinking of the Irish Lights vessel SS Isolda when it was bombed by a German aeroplane on 19 December 1940. The six members of the crew who were killed in the attack are commemorated in the Memorial Garden.
The Memorial Trail, which is called the Journey of Hope, leads to the Garden, which is designed in the shape of a ship with a mast, ship's wheel, a compass fountain, the propellor from SS Lennox, lost off the Saltee Islands in 1916, and a vigil sculpture of two grieving figures.
The Garden is dedicated to the memory of those lost at sea, particularly those whose bodies were never recovered.
While not overtly religious, since its opening in 2001 the Garden has become a place of pilgrimage in which to remember loved ones lost at sea; a special place where family members can try to come to terms with their loss, which also represents a journey of hope for the living.