.- A rally in northern Ireland sponsored by several pro-life organizations drew a crowd of close to 4,000 on July 4.
The forth annual All Ireland pro-life event was held in Belfast and led by pro-life groups in the area, including Precious Life, Youth Defence and the Life Institute.
Youth Defence reported that the colorful, festive parade attracted attention from the city's inhabitants as they marched through Belfast's high density shopping district to Custom House Square, where the attendees heard speeches from pro-life leaders. The day's events also included face-painting, balloons and music for the family-filled crowd.
“We’re so delighted to see that the number of people coming out to protect life is growing every year. The Rally was a great day out for everyone – a real occasion to celebrate life,” Ide Nic Mhathúna of the organizing committee told Youth Defence. “And most importantly it brought people together to stand against abortion, and to become part of the important work done north and south to protect human life.”
The event organizer also highlighted in her remarks that the rally is “an important reminder to our politicians that the majority of Irish people are pro-life.”
One of the speakers, Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute, addressed the need during her speech for Irish citizens to work to ensure that proposed legislation banning embryonic stem cell research is passed. Uí Bhriain also spoke on the upcoming efforts this summer to reach 600,000 people in the country with the pro-life message.
Bernadette Smyth of the group Precious Life closed the rally with a speech urging the enthused crowd of pro-lifers to be “a voice for the voiceless, for mothers and babies, for the Culture of Life.”
