Together4Yes groups demonstrate at Knock airport

IN HER SHOES 38 pairs of shoes representing 38 women in Mayo who travelled abroad for abortions in 2016 were placed in Knock Airport on Sunday last. Pic: David Cassidy

Ciara Galvin

MAYO and Sligo’s Together4Yes groups took part in a ‘solidarity demonstration’ at Ireland West Airport Knock on Sunday.
Seventeen people from the Mayo group were joined by three people from the Sligo branch which have been campaigning for a Yes vote ahead of this Friday’s referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
Speaking to The Mayo News about the demonstration, one of the organisers, Deirdre Duffy, said the demonstration was ‘a show of solidarity with women and families making the journey every day’.
The groups laid 38 pairs of shoes outside the entrance to the airport and again in the check-in foyer to represent 38 women from Mayo who travelled abroad for an abortion in 2016.
“We just wanted to show they are not making the journey alone,” said the organiser.
Asked what feedback they received from the public at the airport, Ms Duffy said the purpose of the demonstration was not to ‘engage’ or ‘disrupt’.
“It was not to cause hardship or tell people what way to vote. People noticed and did ask some questions. There were no objections at all from the public.”
Ms Duffy stressed that security staff at the airport were ‘extremely polite’ when asking the group to stop their demonstration.
“It was really nice to be respected in what we were doing,” concluded Ms Duffy.
In the interest of balance, The Mayo News contacted the LoveBoth movement and Pro Life Campaign to seek information in relation to ‘No’ events taking place across Mayo, however, no reply was received at the time of going to print.