THE BEREAVED family of an Irish-born Coventry resident has applied for permission to appeal the judgment of the Chancellor of the Diocese of Coventry which ruled that an Irish language headstone engraving could be seen as ‘a political statement.’
The family of Margaret Keane, who died in July 2018, wanted the line “In ar gcroithe go deo” (‘in our hearts forever’) to be on her gravestone, in a cemetery in St Giles Church in Ash Green.
But the Chancellor of the Diocese of Coventry, HHJ Stephen Eyre QC, ruled that the phrase could not be allowed on her gravestone in ‘English-speaking Coventry’ without a translation due to ‘a risk of it being misunderstood’.
The family have now filed an application for permission to appeal the judgment, which has attracted widespread concern in the media both sides of the Irish Sea, and from organisations such as the Irish Embassy in Great Britain, Conradh na Gailege, freedom of expression organisations and legal specialists.
Margaret Keane died suddenly, in hospital aged 73 on 29th July 2018, leaving behind a shocked and devastated family including her loving husband Bernard (Bernie), her mother Bridget, her sisters Anne, Cath and Helen, her children Colette, Michael, Vincent, Bernadette (Bez), Caroline and Donna, and her 14 grandchildren.
Two of Margaret’s daughters, Caroline Newey and Bez Martin from Coventry, said: “We are a very close family and our world was turned upside down when we lost our mum in tragic circumstances. Our hurt and loss has been made so much worse by not being able to have a final memorial on her grave.
“Mum and dad were so proud of their Irish heritage and it is so important that their grave should have a loving tribute to them in the Irish language. This will be my dad’s final resting place too and this is causing our whole family a lot of distress.
“We just want to honour our mother’s memory in the best way possible. We did not ask for any of this and the longer that this goes on, only adds to the pain that we are feeling.”
Caroline Brogan, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell who is bringing the legal appeal on behalf of the family, said: “Our clients have not chosen to be in this position. They simply filled in what they believed to be a standard form for a memorial and thought that would be a straightforward process.
“However, the matter ended up being referred to the Chancellor of the Diocese of Coventry, who ruled against them. Regrettably there is no simple, quick way of reversing his decision; this is a judicial decision and there is a specific process which must be followed.”
The Chancellor’s decision drew the ire of Lambeth Palace, which said in a statement: “This decision does not reflect any national Church of England policy.
“This was a judgment from the consistory court of the Diocese of Coventry.
“Consistory court judgements may, with permission, be appealed to the Provincial Court of the Archbishop, in this case the Arches Court of Canterbury.”
The family has set up the Margaret Keane Memorial Fund to honour their mother’s life, to help other grieving families avoid legal wranglings over gravestone inscriptions, and to raise money for good causes.
Margaret’s daughters added: “We want to express our warmest thanks for everyone’s support and through the Margaret Keane Memorial Fund we can ensure that systematic changes are made so that future grieving families are not subjected to a similar experience in future.”
Visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/6qnk8-margaret-keane-memorial-fund to donate.
