Permanent memorial to be erected
The streets of Cavan fell silent last Thursday for the 80th anniversary of the Cavan Orphanage Fire.
The commemorative event sought to remember and celebrate those who passed away in the blaze.
Main street was closed off, with crowds gathering on Market Square before leading a procession down the street to the Convent of the Poor Clare nuns, the scene where the tragic incident took place in 1943.
The procession was led by children who carried 36 candles, one for each lost soul. The name of each victim was called during a ceremony in the courtyard before the children placed their candle on a table.
The large group, which gathered around the table, gasped as the ages of each child were read aloud, as they reflected on the unimaginable pain and fear they must have felt on that fateful night.
Following a minute’s silence, Bernie Connelly and Mary Rooney, nieces of one of the girls who perished in the blaze, laid a wreath.
A short Ecumenical Service then began during which Pastor Ivan Watson questioned “how long will precious children continue to suffer in our broken world, how long will children continue to suffer in our community of Cavan?”
Rev Mark Lidwill, Church of Ireland and Fr Kevin Fay led prayers with those in attendance, and Cathaoirleach John Paul Feeley remembered everyone who was at the convent on that tragic night.
“As we stand in the shadow of these buildings, we think not just of those who lost their lives here 80 years ago, but also those who witnessed those horrific events. The other residents in the orphanage, the community of the convent, members of the local community, who came to assist, an Garda Síochana, members of the defence forces and those involved in the fire service at the time,” he said.
The crowd then listened to a reflection shared by local artist Sarah McKenna Dunne who wrote ‘Smouldering. Not Smothered’, a site specific immersive experience of when fire raged through St Joseph’s Orphanage run by the enclosed order of Sisters of the Poor Clares.
Throughout the service, those present peer around the courtyard, reimagining the chaos of the horrific scene on the night.
The windows on the higher floors from which the young children jumped, the doors they reached on the night only to find them locked.
The service was concluded with songs by Cavan Band, The Highstool Prophets, who opened with ‘The Convent’, a song written about the night. It was confirmed that a fitting memorial would be erected in the town to mark the tragic event in the town’s history and remember all those lost.