Ann Lovett, who died aged 15 after giving birth at the grotto in Granard, Co Longford, in 1984 January 31st, 1984, Dawn Main Street Granard is anchored at one end by the Cnoc Mhuire secondary. From the archive: Thirty three years ago, a 15-year-old girl in Granard, Co Longford, died giving birth in secret. She could have got help anywhere, and she would have got plenty of help. Thats where all the young people would hang around, he continued. Allan was born on April 1 1924, in Wanganui. "From our investigations, we are satisfied that many of Ann Lovett's school pals did know, and several adults in Granard knew," ran a sentence in Eugene McGee's and Jim Gray's report. Two days previously, Ann Lovett had died after giving birth in the grotto adjoining St Marys. When not writing or reading, I can usually be found digging in the garden or tramping . [1], In October of that year, McDonnell explained that he became aware of the rumours around Granard that Ann was pregnant, and confronted her with his doubts. Let no-one assume otherwise or call our response a hostile silence.. He asked whether she had been raped but she would only ask him not to tell anybody. Ann Lovetts mother Patricia at the inquest into her death. Thats unfair on both parties, says Behan, and discourages teenagers from making wise choices around contraception, because they fear both being refused and having parents notified. Thats what I feel. McDonnell believes that Lovett went to the grotto out of protest and knew exactly what she was doing, bringing a pair of scissors with her when she left her house to go to school that morning. With the words "Nothing terribly exciting there", the newspaper was cast down on the studio floor by the Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne. Her death changed the way I thought about Ireland, about what kind of people we were. I know from talking to Granard people they were completely at sea as to what was to be done or what was going to happen. It was like love at first sight. The inquest also confirmed that, contrary to claims emanating from the local community, some people did indeed know about Ann's pregnancy before her death. Ann Lovett, 15, died after giving birth in a churchyard grotto beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary on January 31, 1984. The archives of the Department of Health was a complete shambles at the time., Rural Ireland was a closed society then on matters relating to the care and protection of children. It didnt seem to bother Ann that she stayed out late. Another focus of the IFPAs work is helping parents educate their children about sex and sexuality. From florist to fraudster, leaving a trail of destruction from North Cork, to Waterford, to Clare, to Wexford and through the midlands learn how mistress of re-invention, Catherine O'Brien, scammed her way around rural Ireland. A wall of silence descended that would not lift. Had we known about Anns pregnancy, we would have taken her with understanding and compassion, as would be normal practice. They were hit with an absolute avalanche of media coverage. The Gay Byrne Show on RT Radio began to receive letters from all over the country "Too many letters. It is compulsory for schools to provide sex education, same-sex couples can be legally recognised through civil partnerships, the morning-after pill is available over the counter in pharmacies, and GAA stars and aspirants to ras an achtarin can let the world know theyre gay. He was the editor of a local paper, he explains, who depended on local advertising and sales, and could not alienate his readers. Then she lay down again on the wet mossy gravel, in her school uniform, in the persistent rain, without her coat, her body beginning to go into irreversible shock. Ireland's silence in the aftermath of the tragedy is still felt. Niall Behan, CEO of the Irish Family Planning Association, echoes those concerns, particularly around sex education which, while mandatory in schools, is of varying quality. Diarmuid Lovett was at home, pottering around in a corrugated shed in the back garden, when the boys burst in and told him: Ann is up at the grotto having a baby.. All of what happened, but mostly that she was pregnant. Ann was a girl who was full of life, and had a great energy about her, says Michael. Among those in attendance was Fianna Fil TD John Wilson, a future tnaiste. At the time of Ann Lovetts death, also living at home were her younger sister Patricia (14), and brother Stephen (12). Mother of William M Bryant; Elizabeth Jane Bryant; John D Bryant; Nancy Clementine Bryant; James Marion Bryant and 5 others. What they were hit with at the time from the media coverage was that Granard people were at fault; that they were a crowd of barbarians to have let this happen, and thats what really stung and it still stings, he says. [1] However, when he gave his statement to Detective John Murren, he was allegedly alone and unaccompanied by guardian or legal counsel. "They wouldn't deviate from their statement in any way," he says now, by phone from Sligo. Death of 15-year-old Ann Lovett in childbirth changed Ireland, Boyfriend of Irish schoolgirl who died in childbirth in church grotto speaks out, How you can learn Gaelic literature and culture online with a top Irish university, Colin Quinn is back off Broadway in new show "Small Talk", Monster Love at Origin's 1st Irish hit "Frankenstein's Monster Is Drunk". What followed will be familiar to anyone who knows about rural Ireland in the 1980s. Father of Private; Private; Thomas Warby Keighran; Bessie Emily Keighran; John Henry Keighran and 3 others. 34 years ago today, Ann Lovett died after giving birth at a grotto in Granard. The reduction is not, as some might presume, made up for by a rise in the number of abortions, as the number of Irish teenagers opting for termination has always been very low and halved over the 10 years to 2012. . It could be 10.30pm or 11pm. She cut the umbilical cord with the scissorsand wrapped her dead baby in her coat. Kikola, in a subsequent interview cited his inspiration for writing the song, as being the fact that the event has been largely unknown to the younger generation in Ireland. That was the first I had heard of it. Or understanding, and empathetic. It was up to you to grasp the implications. What happened to Ann was such a big thing at the time, and very, very, very unusual., Carl Sullivan, who was a student in the school at the time, and who now runs a photography business in Longford, also recalls the atmosphere in the school during those days. Journalists and broadcasters also talked about their experiences at the time. anne lovett A secret from a tragic past meets the longings of a lonely present. Ann was always messing about, always having the craic, he said. McDonnell did not know for sure whether the child Ann had borne had been his, but he had lived with the tragic outcome for the rest of his life. It was a man called Tony Kelly. I had no clue about stuff like that then. It was January 31, 1984, a cold wet winters day across Ireland. Ann Lovett was born in Cobh general hospital on April 6th, 1968, and if she had lived, would be celebrating her 50th birthday next month. McMahon did not know until later, that along with her books, Anns schoolbag contained a pair of scissors she had taken from the family home. It was the Gallagher home and Eugene Gallaghers young daughter answered. The Longford Leader, in its first report on the story on February 10th, asked the same question: who knew? This moment marked the first introduction the world had to the story of Ann Lovett and her newborn child. I remember when they were taking the coffin out of the hearse, there was a collective gasp . We were told the news in the gym, by the principal. Govt received a report from M/Health & Education; expressed sympathy with the parents and family: in sofar as in inquiry is concerned, there will an inquest. [1], According to McDonnell, immediately following Anns funeral, Lovetts mother and sister gave him a letter, which had been found addressed to him among Anns possessions. The one other person apart from the garda who definitely saw this file was coroner Patrick Mangan, who hasnever publicly commented on the Lovett case. Diarmuid Lovett put two hot water bottles close to the body of the baby, although it was evident the child was dead. and quiet. Her knees and elbows were bruised, dirt lodged underneath her fingernails. She was intelligent. They did not. But she didnt. It has not really hit me yet. It was very morose . The one thing I remember most strongly about her after all these years is that she seemed very independent and strong.. Now she lay there with the child already dead beside her, wrapped up in her overcoat. The Unmarried Mothers Allowance, and the antipathy it attracted, has vanished, to be replaced by the One Parent Family Payment. Father of William Trowbridge; Gilbert Trowbridge; Thomas Trowbridge and Edmund Trowbridge. On Saturday night, 4 February 1984, Ireland's most popular television show was coming to an end, when the host read this headline from the next day's Sunday Tribune newspaper: "Girl, 15, Dies Giving Birth In A Field". They did however give him one of Ann's drawings, which she had made to elicit contributions to the school magazine, and which the Longford Leader carried on its front page that week. It is dated February 10th, 1984; another pink piece of paper relating to a government meeting, typed and headed, For internal use only not to be sent outside the department., The minister for health mentioned certain further facts which had come to light since his first report. Rural Ireland was a closed society then on matters relating to the care and protection of children, Desmond says. She was fond of hanging out with her friends in Granards one small pool hall in reality a little grocery shop with a pool table and four Space Invader game machines crammed into it. At 5.55pm, Ann was admitted to Mullingar hospital, and it was noted her lips and fingertips were white on arrival; a medical state called cyanosis. Both Ann and her sister Patricia attended the Cnoc Mhuire secondary school in the town. I knew Ann better than anybody. Sometime between noon and 12.30pm, Ann called to the house of her closest friend, Mary Maguire, on Moxham Street, less than a two-minute walk from Anns home on Main Street. Ann had done her Inter Cert the previous summer and was involved in the school magazine, Fach. It got to the point she was staying with me four or five nights of the week, every week, sometimes going home at 4am or 7am, and I would say virtually everybody in Granard knew that at the time.. Irish Examiner Ltd, Linn Dubh, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork. The inquest heard that there was no trouble at home. And thats when the penny dropped for me. In 1981, they moved to the nearby small town of Granard. That week, via a spokesperson, Canon Gilfillan stated to the media that Whoever gave the news to Dublin was only spreading scandal., Canon Gilfillan stood up at Sunday Mass on February 12th and delivered a strongly-worded sermon. [14], Rumours also abounded about the identity of the child's father and the difficult family circumstances in which Ann herself was reared.[15]. Diarmuid Lovett told the inquest: The family was united and we never at any stage knew she was pregnant.. Later in the afternoon, some passing schoolboys heard her crying in the grotto near the Granardkill graveyard. I carry it with me like a tattoo, as does every other Irish person who lived through those times. In Granard, however, people who lived through the turmoil that followed Ann Lovetts death are still reluctant to talk about her. 1842. When we found out about the details, about how she died, and where she died, sure that was like something youd write, rather than something that was real. At his home in south Dublin, he examines a photograph of this document, which was released as a State Paper in 2016. Granard garda were represented by Insp Patrick J Colleran. Although from Co Louth, Byrne had relatives in Granard, and people trusted him enough to talk to him. She was very sharp, very witty. Ann was still conscious. Put it this way, why would you think your classmate was pregnant?, As for the wider community, I find it very hard to fathom that the adults didnt know. Ann Lovett (6 April 1968 - 31 January 1984) [2] was a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Granard, County Longford, Ireland who died giving birth beside a grotto on 31 January 1984. The first most people became aware of the death of Ann Lovett and her baby was after O'Reilly's report featured on the front page of the the Sunday Tribune on February 5th, two days after her funeral. You can have schools in the same town taking very different approaches to sexuality education. I think she liked me immediately as well. 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