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An Irish family won an appeal to Britain’s highest ecclesiastical court to have an inscription in Irish on their mother’s grave.
A decision by a judge in a trial court ruled that Margaret Keane’s inscription should carry an English translation, in case passersby thought the Irish message was a political slogan.
The decision was overturned in a ruling tonight in the Court of Arches, the highest court of appeal in the Church of England.
The way has been cleared for the words “in ar gcroíthe go deo”, which means in our hearts forever, to be written on a tombstone.
Margaret died three years ago, but her grave at “The Meadow” – a new annex to the old St Giles cemetery, in the village of Exhall – is still marked with a wooden cross.
The family’s campaign for the words to be inscribed was initially accepted by the local parish council. The proposal for the tombstone was returned by a diocesan ecclesiastical court judge, Stephen Eyre QC, chancellor of the Diocese of Coventry, who ruled that the tombstone would have to carry an English translation because it could be considered a political slogan, given what called the “passions and feelings associated with the use of Irish Gaelic”.
“We want the tombstone that we can go to and remember Mom for the words that were chosen for her.”
Margaret, a local resident for 50 years, worked as a diner at the local school for 26 years and was a GAA stalwart in Coventry and Warwickshire country.
He received an International President’s Award at a ceremony in Croke Park in 2017.
Her husband, Bernie, was a former GAA provincial president in Great Britain and was a prominent pitcher.
He and the family wanted Margaret’s memorial to reflect what was important to her, to them, and to the community she served: a Celtic cross, the GAA logo, and the inscription in Irish.
At the family home on Vicarage Lane, their son Vincent told me that his parents met at the local Roger Casements GAA club: “This is how it all started, and Mom got involved with the club, first on underage teams. She used to take the boys back and forth, then got involved in all parts of the club – secretary, meeting minutes, buffets and parties – Mom was always there.
“Then when Pairc na hÉireann opened, she and four friends did the catering there too. Mom was very proud of her Irish character and brought us all up to be Irish, with the girls dancing and my brothers and I playing soccer. that is why we wanted the GAA shield and the words “in ar gcroíthe go deo” on the tombstone. “
I asked him how the residents of this town felt about the situation: “No problem,” he said.
“Everyone you talk to too, even at St Giles church, everyone is full of praise for Mom. She worked 26 years at the local school, so even people my age knew her, and they all say the same thing: this is Wrong, why? Your mother can’t have what she wants. “
A social media campaign to support the appeal attracted widespread attention. “It has been very humiliating, all the people all over the world saying that Mom should get what she deserves. It has been absolutely mind blowing, we never imagined that she would get to where she is now.
“All over the world, people have contacted us to tell us how bad it is.
“Losing Mom was a shock, but we can’t get through the grieving process by going to the grave and just having a wooden cross to look at. We want the headstone that we can go down to and remember Mom for the words that were chosen for her. “.
Margaret was a Catholic, but the Church of England St Giles Cemetery and “the meadow” is the local cemetery for the residents of her village.
It is owned and managed by the church, but church property is subject to the supervision and decisions of ecclesiastical courts, which are independent of the Church and operate under the authority of an act of Parliament.
Dating from medieval times, when they were established by the Pope to control bishops, immensely powerful figures in the medieval world, today ecclesiastical courts in England exist primarily to deal with disciplinary matters involving the clergy and matters related to the property of the church.
It is a complex arrangement, born out of the unification of church and state after the reform.
This is why this matter is the subject of a court case contested by top-notch attorneys, and not something that is resolved with a quiet word from the local bishop (or indeed the Archbishop of Canterbury).
Because the Church itself seems to be on the side of the Keane family. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s chief of staff has weighed in on the case, speaking in favor of the family’s wish to have the inscription only in Irish.
Lambeth Palace is bearing the cost of carrying out the court case, but not the costs of the plaintiff’s attorneys; Fortunately for the family, they are providing their pro-bono services, otherwise this case, with its cost levels similar to those of a higher court, would be beyond the family means.
The case of an Irish-only inscription has been strongly supported by the Bishop of Cashel, Ossory and Ferns of the Church of Ireland, Michael Burrows, who wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury about the case.
And the vicar of St Giles Church, the Reverend Gail Philip, has been very supportive of the family, including opening the church grounds on Monday night to allow them to project a candle and the words “Message to Margaret” on the bell. of the church. tower – part of a very successful social media campaign to draw attention to the case.
I met Reverend Philip (or Reverend Gail, as she is known) yesterday, and I asked Vincent Keane to introduce us. She thought it best not to do an interview on the eve of a court case. But she and Vincent clearly get along well together, and the Keane family has nothing but praise for Reverend Gail.
He gave us permission to film in the cemetery, but asked that we not film the inscriptions on the tombstones without the permission of the families concerned.
Today two of Vincent’s sisters, Bernadette Martin and Caroline Newey are in London, attending a session of the Court of Arches for the Province of Canterbury, the highest court of appeal in the Church of England, where a panel of three judges , headed by Arches Dean Morag Ellis QC, (a senior planning attorney) heard a detailed appeal from attorneys representing the family and London branch of Conradh na Gaeilge.
Covid restrictions mean that only two of the family can attend. The rest looked at a zoom link. The presiding judge said it was “miraculous” that everyone could gather in court in a socially estranged church to carry out the case (before reminding them to wear masks when not speaking and to use their hand sanitizers).
The case took place at the historic St Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside.
London folklore says that to be a true Londoner you have to be born within earshot of the “Bow bells”.
And the case itself, to a small extent, could also make history, as a ruling could have a broader effect on others seeking to have inscriptions in languages other than English in cemeteries run by the Church of England.
Judge Ellis, who also advises the Welsh government on planning matters, noted that the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland was similar to that of Welsh in Wales, and was well versed in the constitutional status of the language in Ireland, adding all the the judges found Conradh na Gaeilge’s written presentation very helpful.
That reference to Welsh is notable, as supporters of the family have said that there are five headstones at St Giles that bear inscriptions in Welsh with no English translation, as well as some in Hebrew and Latin.
During my brief visit to the cemetery, I saw a Welsh-only inscription on a tombstone from the last 20 years.
Keane’s lead attorney is Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, mentored by Caroline Brogan of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors in Birmingham.
Ms. Gallagher is a prominent member of the Doughty Street Chambers, a law firm that specializes in human rights cases. Among other QCs of the firm is Amal Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney.
Ms Gallagher, a graduate of UCD, Kings Inns and Cambridge, has previously performed for grieving families in the 7/7 terrorist bombings in London and the Hillsborough football disaster.
She has particular experience in free speech cases, acting for media organizations in the investigations into the deaths of Alexander Litvinenko and Gareth Williams (the employee of the GCHQ spy agency found dead in a travel bag), ensuring that these hearings were open to public scrutiny and could be reported freely.
Among the points he made in court, the Irish-language inscription was not challenged by anyone except the lower court judge, Stephen Eyre QC; And when Queen Elizabeth, defender of the faith and leader of the Church of England, delivered a speech at Dublin Castle in 2011, her opening remarks were in Irish.
Ms. Gallagher also made a comment to the court that the family also made to me; If Margaret, a quiet and modest woman typical of the emigrant generation of the 50s, were still alive, she would be deeply ashamed to be at the center of an international media campaign and court case in a historic London church in which the Queen of England, the President of Ireland, the Archbishop of Canterbury and numerous learned Lords of Law and judges were summoned. More than five words like Gaeilge.
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