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Court Costs for Margaret Keane's Headstone Appeal.

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On 29th July 2018 our beloved Margaret Keane died suddenly, aged 73, with her family by her side. Her death came as a great shock to 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. Her loss has been devastating to us as a family. The 27 months since her death have been extremely difficult for us all. 

The family has been prevented from marking Margaret’s grave in the way we wish, with the Chancellor of the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Coventry ruling that our inscription “In ár gcroíthe go deo” on Margaret's headstone had to be accompanied by an English translation because “Given the passions and feelings connected with the use of Irish Gaelic there is a sad risk that the phrase would be regarded as some form of slogan or that its inclusion without translation would of itself be seen as a political statement".  

The Consistory Court’s ruling has attracted significant media coverage, including in  The Guardian and the BBC .

The family was profoundly disappointed with the ruling, and we are pursuing an appeal through the Court of Arches in Canterbury to have this inscription on our mother’s gravestone without an English translation.

But, as reported in The Irish Post  on 20th October 2020, we could be forced to pay all of the court’s costs, regardless of the outcome of our appeal.

This means that, despite the fact that our legal team are all acting for us on a free of charge basis,  we could be required by the Arches Court of Canterbury to pay the court substantial costs, which will include costs for the judges’ time, as well as the provincial registrar’s time.

It is difficult to predict how much those further costs will be as they are based on future time spent by the court, but they could reach thousands of pounds.

This is an immense burden for the family to bear.

Building on the immense support shown to the family since the ruling of the Consistory Court became public, this fund seeks donations to alleviate the financial burden regarding court costs. 

The Irish Language Rights group, Conradh na Gaeilge I Londain, is also involved in the appeal – they are acting as a third party intervener, in support of the family’s case. Despite being a small community organisation with limited funds, Conradh na Gaeilge will also have to pay some of the court’s costs.

Any surplus funds raised will therefore go towards the court costs payable by Conradh na Gaeilge -Londain, and The Margaret Keane Memorial Fund

Donations 

  • Noreen Finnegan
    • £15 
    • 3 yrs
  • Mandy O’Connell
    • £10 (Offline)
    • 3 yrs
  • Manchester Irish Language Group
    • £100 (Offline)
    • 3 yrs

Organizer and beneficiary

Caroline Newey
Organizer
Joseph Martin
Beneficiary

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