The Remembering Quilt Launch

The Remembering Quilt was launched on Monday 6th August in Belfast. Feile an Phobail provided the platform as hundreds of relatives joined together with friends to celebrate the launch.

The quilt currently consists of 250 squares representing 265 victims of the conflict in Ireland,1,100 individuals participated in this project.

Many more families have since come forward wishing to dedicate squares to their loved ones, these relatives will be making further panels of the quilt and if you wish to get involved please pick up the phone and we’ll be happy to tell you how.

We are currently trying to raise the funding to produce a book which will explain each and every square and the story they represent. This is a massive project requiring huge funding – if you are interested in supporting these efforts please give Andree Murphy a ring at the office.

The following is an extract from the speech delivered at the launch of the quilt in Belfast by RFJ worker Andree Murphy.

“There has never been such a project as the Remembering Quilt, which remembers family members, their lives, loves and individuality. All lost, all missed equally and terribly. It represents the memories of families who miss and love them very much. It is precious and beautiful just by knowing how much family members invested in it.

Vol. Tony Gormley's family, have placed his photo in the middle of the square. He is wearing a shirt and tie. The tie he is wearing has been used to border the square. If just this square had used such a precious item from his family, this quilt would have taken our breath away. However many more squares have used similar sacrifices from families’ dearest treasures.
             
The imagery of the squares has surpassed any vision we had of what the quilt would represent. When families chose their design representing the people who were lost and the memories they hold, they created such a  testimony to remembrance and endurance of love, that we found the project to be a constant privilege.

John Finucane's son was six weeks old when his father was killed. He chose to write a poem on his square about growing up with the loss of his father. Undoubtedly anyone with knowledge and appreciation of literature and the use of language to convey emotions would bear witness to the impact and integrity of these few lines which use a small number of words to convey a lifetime of experiences and feelings.

The journey we embarked on last year when we began the quilt has been one of wonder, of deep sadness, of tremendous joy and of incredible compassion. Family met family, listened and understood. There is a Greek word 'Pathos', it's difficult to translate fully into English but it is used in Greek translations of the Bible to describe Jesus' compassion and understanding of suffering. It combines those qualities with love and acceptance. Every single time families came together, shared their experiences, helped each other with designs and sewing, the true meaning of that word was seen and known. When the term 'healing process' is used I wonder if those using it really understand what it means. This project witnessed decades of pain and deep, deep grief being addressed in safety as positive memories were cherished and put into posterity on the squares.

On behalf of Relatives for Justice we wish to thank every single person who participated in this journey with us. For every stitch, sequin, drawing and piece of fabric, we know of the tears laughter and memories. We pledge ourselves to cherishing them for future generations.

There are squares dedicated to people whose stories you will not know and may even have forgotten. If you remember the circumstances of their deaths it is likely that you will not know of their lives. This beautiful and inspiring quilt celebrates those lives and will remember them for generations.

There are people who need to be thanked. To the Community Relations Council and Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust for providing some funding. To the relatives who organised other relatives, providing courage through their example.

To Shauneen our family support worker and to Clara, Brid, Maura, Marie Murphy and Marie Stewart, you wonderful beautiful, and enduring artists who supported this quilt and the families who participated in it, it couldn’t and wouldn’t have happened without you.

The vast bulk of the people represented by the quilt, were killed with impunity. No one was held accountable. If they were killed by the State their murders were responded to by lies and cover-ups. In recent times there have been concerted efforts to erase them from the memory by not recognising their experiences.

Similarly the many killed by loyalists acting as agents of the State, saw those responsible, those who supplied the weapons and cover walk away. If on the rare occasion charges were brought against individual loyalists the powers that drove their murder campaign were never mentioned except in conspiratorial whispers.

If this project has begun a healing process then it needs truth and recognition to finish it. Let no-one look at this quilt and doubt its inclusive nature. It was open and inclusive to all experiences. If however you look you will see how injustice was done again and again. Because we know the victims of injustice better now, because we understand just how much their families and communities were robbed then that injustice demands to be addressed.

There must be true acknowledgement of the pain caused and there must be a process which allows the full truth to be told. Relatives for Justice will continue to engage with all of those who will listen, to ensure that the truth is known and recognition is secured.

This quilt demands no less.”