Latest news with #RallyforLife
Irish Independent
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Letters: Live Aid put starvation of children in spotlight, yet this type of cruelty persists today
Led by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, almost two billion people worldwide watched the concerts as images of emaciated and starving children filled our TV screens urging us to donate ('Bob Geldof on why Live Aid still resonates today, 40 years on from concerts that united the world', Irish Independent, July 14). Today, thousands of children are being starved and killed by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza and the world looks on ('Israel blames 'technical error' for deadly drone missile that killed six children in Gaza', July 13). At the same time, settlers, who are essentially modern-day thieves, are forcibly removing Palestinians from their lands in the West Bank. There is no plausible deniability here – settlers aren't defying the state; they are doing its bidding. This culture of impunity towards Israel must end. Otherwise our whole world order and way of life will be upended. Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry Internet has transformed our lives, but it has given a platform to village idiots The internet has profoundly transformed how the world functions, impacting communication, commerce, information access and social interaction. Its influence is pervasive – affecting nearly every aspect of modern life. Before the internet, most people thought villages only had one idiot. We certainly did not get that one right. John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary My late mother's wisdom still rings true, especially when it comes to women God rest my mother – a woman full of sayings, sense and the kind of quiet wisdom that tends to surface years later when you least expect it. As a young lad setting out on the treacherous terrain of romance, she once said to me: 'Don't just look at the girl you're dating – look at her mother. That's who you might be sitting across the room from in 40 years' time.' She meant it kindly, and she was right. My wife has indeed grown into many of her mother's finest qualities – including her good looks, warmth, and sense of humour. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more But how I wish my mother had added just one thing: 'And pay attention to how she stacks the dishwasher.' Now, there's a lifelong learning curve. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh Taskforce to look at surge of abortions in Ireland should be welcomed by all The organisers of the recent Rally for Life that took place in Dublin have reiterated their call for the Government to establish a taskforce to investigate the reasons behind the high increase in abortions that are taking place in Ireland yearly. These calls have fallen on deaf ears when the Government has been approached on this subject in recent years. The Department of Health released the data available to them late on Friday evening past, which confirmed that 10,852 abortions took place in Ireland last year. This equates to one in six pregnancies ending in abortion. Whatever one's viewpoint on abortion is, surely we can all agree that any taskforce which may gather information on the reasoning behind these numbers should be welcomed by all. Equipped with the relevant information, the Government would then be in a position to establish supports that would enable any woman experiencing a crisis pregnancy to have all the necessary societal and financial resources at her disposal in assisting her whatever her choice may be. Eamonn O'Hara, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal Are greed and discomfort about our State's history at the heart of GPO plans? Far more articulate speakers have, and are, responding to the proposal to, once again, attempt to bury our country's past. But I must write this because during the extremely one-sided approach in dealing with the more recent Troubles – where there was effectively a burying of our revolutionary past by Ireland's establishment, sometimes in favour of outrageous demands like re-erecting the Lord Gough statue in the Phoenix Park – there has been a general attempt to rewrite and revise history. From a recent proposal to commemorate Black and Tans (by proxy through the RIC), to a tacit approval of the wanton destruction of The O'Rahilly home in Dublin, to the wilful desecration of Moore Street with all its historical significance, these two government parties now want to destroy the highly symbolic GPO by adding shops and offices at the site. We must ask why? What has happened to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to allow these base and ignorant plans to go ahead? Bear in mind, Éamon de Valera was sentenced to death after the 1916 Rising, and WT Cosgrave was the next man on the list for execution before they stopped the firing squads. 'Was it for greed?' as the late Luke Kelly sang in The Sons of Róisín. Or is it something far more deep-rooted? I could cite the usual Irish self-hate, shame of the State's revolutionary origins and an unwillingness to remember. As a tour guide in Galway, I'm conscious the sole person Galway City Council officially remembered in the recent Centenary celebrations was an RIC constable killed in 1916. Has the fear of Irish republicanism in the shape of Sinn Féin driven certain parties to want to turn the wheel back full circle. But, you may say, back then there was overcrowding in rented tenements, slum landlords, rotten electoral boroughs, an imperialistic world of privilege and poverty. It couldn't happen today, could it? Yes, indeed, 'for what died the sons of Róisín'? Jim Ward, Salthill, Galway 'The final we have all been waiting for' – except the other 30 counties, that is Not for the first time, and we heard it again at the weekend from the football experts: 'It's the final everybody wanted'. Oh yippee! The other 30 counties must be jumping for joy. Tommy Heneghan, Balbriggan, Co Dublin Thank heavens for Irish weather, when you look at world's climate calamities With wildfires, freak storms and record-breaking temperatures all around the world, I can't help thinking that we in Ireland should be thanking the heavens for our climate.
Irish Post
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Post
Thousands attend pro-life march in Dublin as organisers warn of 'spiralling' abortion rates
THOUSANDS of people attended a pro-life march in Dublin on Saturday as organisers warned of 'spiralling' abortion rates in Ireland. Around 2,000 people joined the Rally for Life as it made its way from Parnell Square to Custom House Quay. Demonstrators waved flags reading 'Life Will Win' and 'Stop Aborting Our Future' as organisers claimed the failure to offer supports to women and families is leading to increased abortions. Spokeswoman Sandra Parda said that figures released earlier this year show that, to the end of February 2025, more than 50,000 abortions had taken place in Ireland. Demonstrators at the anti abortion Rally for Life at Parnell Square (Image: Leah Farrell / She described the number of abortions since laws were repealed in 2019 as a 'grim and heart-breaking new record'. "We're at a point where abortions rates are soaring and birth rates are collapsing, yet the government is keeping no real data on why this is happening," she said. "These policies — and this wilful indifference — is literally aborting Ireland's future. "The government needs to understand what's driving women towards abortion and how we are failing both mother and child by too-often making abortion the only option." Now in its 19th year, the pro-life rally is organised by Life Institute and Precious Life. See More: Abortion, Dublin, Rally For Life
RTÉ News
05-07-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Anti-abortion demonstration takes place in Dublin
An anti-abortion Rally for Life is taking place in Dublin city centre today, calling for the Government to establish an "urgent task force" on what organisers call "spiralling abortion rates". Around 2,000 people attended the event, which began at 1.30pm at Parnell Square. The demonstration travelled down O'Connell Street and is to conclude with speeches at Custom House Quay. The rally, according to organisers, is hoped to "kickstart a national campaign" to bring about reform to abortion laws, which were changed in 2019 after a 2018 referendum was passed by 66.4% to 33.6%. Speaking ahead of the event, organiser Sandra Parda claimed a lack of Government supports to women and families in favour of focusing on abortion access has contributed to what organisers call "spiralling" rates, which in turn, she believes, has contributed to declining birth rates. "We are literally aborting our future, and the Government needs to understand what's driving women towards abortion and how we are failing both mother and child by too-often making abortion the only option," she said. The Rally for Life is organised by Life Institute and Precious Life, and is supported by 40 local pro-life groups.
