2 weeks Ago By Carmel Robinson
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Each name was a woman who was brutally killed by another leaving families, friends and communities devastated. Among the large crowd were the family of Lurgan woman Natalie McNally who was viciously murdered in December 2022.
Friends of Laura Marshall, another woman killed in Lurgan, were also in attendance as was the family of Katie Simpson. Advertisement Advertisement Women’s Aid CEO Eileen Murphy called on government to do more to eradicate violence against women and girls. "Last year at the vigil we were remembering 18 women who had been murdered.
This year we have to add a further six. There have been 24 murdered women in Northern Ireland since 2020. 24 murdered women and children who were there when mummy died or died with mummy.
"On the island of Ireland the number sits at 59 women and it’s climbing as we are just waiting to hear the next name,” said Eileen. "We ought to remember all the women whose lives have been brutally taken from us. And these figures include the loss, the bereavement, the grief of the extended family, friends and community who feel that loss so terribly.
Advertisement Advertisement "Words can never express the pain and grief that the murder of the women in our community mean to us. But I’m going to try and give some sentiment to what it means to Women’s Aid and to family and friends. It’s in memory but it’s also in hope.
"In the quiet moments we remember the lives that were taken, the voices now silent. Their light, though dimmed, still shines within us – a beacon of strength, of love and of resilience. "We honour their memory with every breath, carrying forward their dreams and their laughters.
In our hearts they live on, forever cherished. In our actions their spirit finds new life. "Though the pain is deep hope remains in the love we share, in the justice that we seek.
Together we stand united and strong. Through their remembrance, our voices can rise. Advertisement Advertisement "This vigil is a gathering of family, friends and, so importantly, of community coming together to celebrate the lives of all these women who have been ruthlessly taken from us.
"We encourage everyone here to join with us in advocating for change by raising our collective voices. We need to really urge government to take much, much stronger action in eliminating violence against women and girls. "I absolutely, from the bottom of my heart believe, that we as a community stand strong and demand that those who have the power actively do what needs to be done.
We can eradicate violence against women and girls. We can make our homes, our streets and the places we live safe for women, for children, for young people, for those we love,” said Eileen who added that it was the first time in her 20 plus years with Women’s Aid that so many have come out to stand beside them and the bereaved. Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
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