A grieving family has won its battle to erect a gravestone with an inscription in Irish after overturning a church court ban issued on the grounds that it might arouse political “passions”.
The family of Margaret Keane, a Coventry dinner lady who died aged 73 in 2018, now hope a Celtic cross bearing the words “In ár gcroíthe go deo” – “in our hearts forever” – will be in place on her grave in the grounds of St Giles church in Exhall, near Nuneaton, in time for St Patrick’s Day on 17 March.
The family’s appeal against the earlier decision was heard at the court of arches – an ecclesiastical court – sitting at the historic church of St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London, on Wednesday. The written judgment with reasons would be issued at a later date, the court said.
Zarah Sultana, a Coventry MP, said the judgment was “brilliant news”. She tweeted: “The Keane family were denied an Irish-only inscription on Margaret’s headstone in Coventry … but today they won their appeal. Justice is done! Congratulations to the Keane family!”
The court’s judgment overturned a ruling last summer by Stephen Eyre QC, chancellor of the consistory court in the diocese of Coventry. He said: “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.
“That is not appropriate and it follows that the phrase ‘In ár gcroíthe go deo’ must be accompanied by a translation which can be in a smaller font size.”
Keane’s daughters, Bez Martin and Caroline Newey, said the ruling had “politicised a grieving family’s final declaration of love. It has been devastating to us, and it has suspended the grieving process.”
The Church of England said the decision did not reflect its policies. “The Irish language is an important part of the heritage of the Church of England. It was, after all, Irish-speaking monks in Lindisfarne and beyond who played a central role in establishing the church in what is now England.”
Christopher Cocksworth, the bishop of Coventry, said he was “deeply saddened whenever people’s identity is hurt or offended”.
Keane and her husband were born in the Irish Republic but lived in the UK. Both were active in the Gaelic Athletic Association.
During the one-day sitting at the court of arches, lawyers for the family cited human rights law and said the Irish language had been singled out as there were inscriptions in other languages without translation in the graveyard.
Keane’s husband, Bernie, felt he had let his wife down by not honouring her final wishes, the court heard.
The court decided that a translation of the words should be provided in the “appropriate parish register”, rather than inscribed on the gravestone.
• The headline on this article was amended on 25 February 2021 to clarify that the family won its legal battle to have the ban overturned; it did not overturn the ban itself.
