A candlelight walk to commemorate the women who have been killed in County Clare by their partners or exes is to take place on the 10th December.
The event organised by the charity Clare Haven will be a sombre reflective walk from the Garda Station to the Court House in Ennis, starting at 6.30pm.
Clare Haven is an Ennis based charity that works to protect women and children who are already experiencing abuse and violence in the home by providing frontline services such as refuge, outreach support and advocacy in the legal and judicial systems.
“Whatever the myriad of reasons for domestic violence and abuse being so prevalent in our society, Clare Haven Services, with the generous support of the people of Clare, are
committed to working with the women, children and the community at large to alleviate
and support those affected while campaigning to bring it to an end.” said Dr Siobhán O’Connor, Interim Service Manager of Clare Haven.
The organisation also works to prevent abuse happening to future women and children through public awareness and education campaigns. It provides interventions by delivering resilience programmes, interagency collaboration as well as relevant counselling services.
Clare Haven relies on donations from statutory and other funders for its operation. The charity also continues to benefit from generous donations from the people and businesses of Clare and its environs. One such benefactor, Lisdoonvarna hotelier Marcus White’s contribution is funding the renovation work of the refuge in Ennis, which is due to begin in the next few weeks.
Dr O’Connor said: “We are very grateful to Mr White for his very generous donation to our services. We will use it to enhance the lived experience of the women in the refuge by refurbishing and developing a relaxing sitting room for our residents while they are compelled to utilise the refuge.
“We rely on the donations of the people from the County which are crucial to enabling us to keep our doors open and for this we are very grateful,” she added.