A COVENTRY family who gained international attention in their fight for an Irish inscription on their mother’s headstone has launched a new project celebrating Irish heritage and empowering young people through storytelling and the arts.
The Seanchaí Collective, founded by the family of the late Margaret Keane, is launching Irish Hear this summer.
The yearlong event will offer free activities for people of Irish heritage and mixed Irish descent in Coventry.
For founder Bez Martin, daughter of Margaret and Bernie Keane, this is the direct legacy of the family's long legal battle to honour her mother's final wishes.
The family unexpectedly found themselves at the centre of a public battle following Margaret's death in 2018.
The inscription they wished to place on her gravestone read Inár gcroíthe go deo, meaning "In our hearts forever", in Irish.
The final inscription on the headstone (Photo from the Keane Family)But permission for the inscription was refused through the Church of England faculty process after a judge ruled against it.
"When we got the final decision, where the Irish-only inscription was banned, it wasn't just the fact that our language was banned, it was the rationale for his judgement," Ms Martin said.
"That was the most surprising and shocking for us, that the use of an Irish-only inscription would be seen as a political slogan.”
"It was 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement. We were in modern times, right? And the judgement didn't, I think, reflect that."
The case gained national and international attention after a historian discovered the judgement and shared it on social media.
The viral tweet was seen by barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who agreed to represent the family pro bono.
Alongside the legal challenge, the family created the Message to Margaret campaign.
"With the M2M campaign, we were trying to run a counter narrative to the sentiment in his judgement," Ms Martin said.
"With the support of amazing artists and creatives in Coventry, we had an online concert, where there was dance, music, poetry and the best of Irish culture, as a means to raise awareness for the case."
The family also projected the banned inscription onto the church where Margaret was buried, alongside messages from the local community.
The inscription lit up on the side of the Coventry church (Photo by the Keane Family)After a lengthy legal process, the family finally won their fight for the inscription and installed the headstone on St Patrick's Day, 2021.
"For the sake of our emotional wellbeing, we'd suspended our grieving process so that we could function during the court case," said Ms Martin.
"For us it was really the first time of just quiet mourning and also just pride at what we achieved.”
"Finally mum and dad's wishes were being honoured."
The experience ultimately inspired the creation of The Seanchaí Collective in 2024.
"The Seanchaí Collective is now just an extension and a legacy of the Message to Margaret Campaign," Ms Martin said.
"We always knew as a family that we owed something back to everyone that had supported us."
"We saw the best in the kindness of humanity, and we need to pay that back and pay that forward in some way."
The organisation's mission is rooted in storytelling, reflected in its name.
"Seanchaí in Irish is storyteller, and there is power in storytelling," she said.
The M2M campaign were recognised with an award (Photo by the Keane Family)"There can be learning, healing and growth in listening to other people's stories. Storytelling is transformative in its very nature; it connects human to human."
This summer will see the launch of Irish Hear, their free youth arts programme.
"We're really grateful to Coventry City Council for help with the funding," Ms Martin said.
"Irish Hear will run for about 10 to 12 months, and we will be launching in July."
The programme will be open to people aged eight and up, and will explore theatre, drama, language, dance, food and cultural heritage.
People will also learn about Coventry's historic connections to Ireland, with visits to the Ogham Stone housed at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.
The Seanchaí Collective is also hoping to secure funding for a major theatre production at the Belgrade Theatre next year based on the family's story.
For Ms Martin, the project is ultimately about celebrating the legacy left by generations of Irish people.
"I'm incredibly proud to be the daughter of emigrants," she said.
"I saw the pride my parents had about where they came from, and they instilled that in me.”
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