Jesus said “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14)

On Saturday 2nd July, thousands of people travelled from all over Ireland – and indeed from around the world - to attend the colourful and lively All-Ireland Rally for Life in Dublin.

The Rally was organised by Youth Defence, Precious Life and the Life Institute and other groups.

A big thank you to everyone who attended the Rally and all those helped in any way to make the Rally such a success – those who organised buses, distributed leaflets, put up posters, made a donation etc. And of course, a big thank you to everyone who prayed for the success of the Rally.

The day’s event was built a foundation of prayer. Prayers were said on all the buses travelling to the Rally for a successful day. Those people who couldn’t attend the Rally prayed at home. Catholic participants attended a special ‘pre-Rally’ Mass in St Saviour’s Church at 12.30am, including Bishop Seamus Hegarty, Bishop of Derry.

Just after 2.00pm, traffic in Dublin city centre came to a standstill as streets had to be closed to accommodate the massive crowds, and the Rally participants took full advantage by dancing and singing as they walked through the city centre to the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann). There was a jubilant atmosphere as thousands walked and danced with balloons, flags, banners and music to celebrate life.

This was the largest Rally for Life yet, with over 7000 people taking to the streets.

At the rally’s conclusion outside Dáil Éireann, the huge crowd cheered the powerful and inspirational speeches from the Rally Speakers,

Carolyn O’Meara from Youth Defence shared a beautiful story about how a baby’s life was saved from abortion because of the pro-lifers witness outside an abortion referral agency in Dublin. Encouraging more people to get involved in this vital work, she asked everyone, “..to pray and take action – there is something in this movement to suit every person and every lifestyle.”

Daniel McCabe from Precious Life Youth told the crowd how important our Street Outreach was “..in educating the public, especially the youth, about the threats to the unborn child and their mothers, and raise awareness for the youth of Ireland to take a stand against legalised abortion.” As an active pro-life youth he appealed to the young people there “..I’m asking you to be a new generation of pro-life leaders in Ireland and push back the gates of the culture of death.”

“Dana” Rosemary Scallon, the singer, television presenter, and former MEP, referred to our presence outside the Dáil and reminded the crowd that the politicians elected by us are responsible to us. “Our constitution belongs to the people! ..and the majority of people in this country do not want legalised abortion in Ireland ..We call on the politicians we elected to respect the voice and wishes of the people of this country” , she said.

Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute told the crowd that they were sending an important message to the government. “We will not accept the legalisation of abortion – not now – not ever – not in our country – not in our name! We’re here today to send out a special urgent message to Taoiseach Enda Kenny – KEEP YOUR PRO-LIFE PROMISE ! ..we demand you listen to the pro-life majority who say YES to life and NO to abortion ..tell the European Court, the United Nations, the EU, and every other unelected, interfering outfit that presumes to tell Ireland what to do, that we – the sovereign people – will decide our pro-life laws.”

In an impassioned speech to the enthusiastic crowd, Bernadette Smyth, Director of Precious Life said, “..Ireland continues to be the light in the global battle against abortion ..we are winning this battle for our unborn – we are holding back the floodgates… YOU! – the people of Ireland - are a people of life and a people of light and we say today, unified and united, WE WILL NEVER ACCEPT THE KILLING OF OUR UNBORN CHILDREN ..we are winning the battle - on the streets, in the courts, in our government ..the Northern Ireland Stormont government is the most pro-life government in Europe.”

“We, the people of Ireland, have the spirit of St Patrick in our veins ..and the light he lit on the Hill of Tara all those years ago is still lit today in Ireland ..so in the spirit of St Patrick I say to you, the people of life and people of light – to RISE UP WITH HOLY BOLDNESS and to continue in this fight against the culture of death and against those who want to murder and destroy our children.”

“We are a people set apart and we were called for such a time like this ..evil will not triumph in Ireland because we will stand together united and we will work because everything depends on us and we will pray together because everything depends on God. History will show, not only did we fight the battles waging against our children today, but history will tell that we won the war for God and his unborn children” , she said to sustained applause.

We thank God for the fantastic Rally for Life in Dublin on Saturday. But the battle to protect our unborn children is a relentless daily battle and we pray that the good people of Ireland will not tire or grow weary of doing good (2 Th 3:13) because millions of little babies are depending on us.

We now move on from the Rally and get straight back into saving babies. On Saturday we ‘rallied for life’, but what about today? tomorrow? ..and the day after? ..and the day after that? We must keep fighting for life every day throughout the year. While we’re still experiencing the feelings of joy and excitement about the successful Rally, why not renew your commitment to be a voice for unborn children throughout the year.

Please give us a call on 028 90278484 for information on how you, your family and friends, can get involved in any of the pro-life activities listed below:

-  Become a member of a Precious Life
-  Take part in our Street Outreach Campaigns
-  Take part in our daily Prayer Vigils at Abortion Agencies
-  Take part in Events and Rallies
-  Distribute Precious Life Literature
-  Make a Donation to Precious Life
-  Help in some other way

We look forward to seeing you at next year’s All Ireland Rally for Life to be held in Belfast on Saturday 7th July 2012, when we can celebrate another successful year of pro-life action in protecting our unborn children