A Letterkenny woman proudly represented the Donegal pro-choice campaign this year in the London St. Patrick's Day parade. 

Lorna Kelly acted as an ambassador for Donegal in the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign display this March 17th, displaying a symbolic wooden cut-out for her home county. The number 63 signified the 63 women with a Donegal address who travelled to the UK for an abortion in 2016.

Lorna said, “I’m so proud to represent Donegal in London’s parade and say that behind every great county in Ireland there is a number we will no longer ignore.”

 

Lorna Kelly from Letterkenny at the London St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2018

The group’s St. Patrick’s Day display was entitled “Behind every great county …”, with a numbered sign for each Irish county.

In January, Health Minister Simon Harris read into the Dáil record the number of people from each county who travelled to Britain for an abortion in 2016 saying, “These are not faceless women. They are our friends and neighbours, sisters, cousins, mothers, aunts, wives.”

London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign

This is the second year running the 1,000 member-strong London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign group participated in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

The group is also behind the #HometoVote campaign calling on eligible Irish voters abroad, an estimated 40,000 plus, to come home to vote in May’s referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment.