The sun was shining on Belfast on Saturday last July 7th when
several thousand pro-lifers walked through the streets of the city centre to
the rally's assembly point at Custom House Square. There they listened to
speakers from both sides of the border, as well as Britain and the US, call on
them to continue the fight to keep Ireland free of abortion.
Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life
said that this year’s rally was a celebration of the founding of Youth Defence
(YD) in 1992. Despite this anniversary there was an even greater sense of
urgency this year for obvious reasons. Dr Eoghan De Faoite of YD told the crowd
that the Irish government was determined to use the faulty decision by the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the A B and C case as the pretext to
liberalise the country's abortion laws. But, he pointed out, rulings by ECtHR,
are not legally binding and under the Constitution it is the Irish people who
hold sovereignty.
Unlike previous rallies in Belfast,
this year a small number of anti-life protesters, between 100 and 200, gathered
at one point along the route. Their attempts to disrupt the event, however,
were frustrated and their pro-abortion slogans were drowned out by the chants
of “Pro-life, pro-life”.
Initial estimates put the attendance at this years event at 7000 and in addition the event was well attended by
members of the clergy, including Bishop Donal McKeown, auxiliary bishop of Down
and Connor.
Bernadette Smyth also read out a message of support from the Holy
Father Pope Benedict XVI.
