The Pro Life Campaign hosted its annual national conference last weekend in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, under the theme ‘Pathways to Progress – Working for a Pro-Life Future’. The event, chaired by broadcaster Wendy Grace, gathered hundreds of activists determined to keep hope alive for Ireland’s pro-life movement in the years following the repeal of the Eighth Amendment.
Opening with planning groups on social media outreach, political engagement, and student activism, the conference highlighted both the challenges and new signs of progress for the cause.
Pro Life Campaign CEO Eilís Mulroy told The Irish Catholic that the movement remains committed to incremental, steady work rather than sudden change. “Things are a bit circular,” she said. “After repeal there was this big push, much of it based on bad information. Many people who voted for it never expected to see over 10,000 abortions a year. Laws change behaviours, and our job is to open people’s eyes to what’s actually happening.”
Ms Mulroy said the campaign’s role is to “keep the conversation going” through parliamentary questions, research, and grassroots activity. She highlighted the HSE’s new national electronic data system for abortion as evidence that “persistence pays off.”
“Back in 2018, politicians calling for basic data collection were laughed out of the house,” she said. “Seven years later, the government is finally recognising that people need transparency. It shows why we have to keep at it.”
Independent senator Sharon Keogan advocated for an Unborn Victims of Violence law, while engineer Tina McManus gave a moving testimony about her late son Jamie, encouraging others to “take action so that his short life bears fruit.”
Keynote speaker Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, co-director of March for Life UK, drew international attention in 2022 after her arrest for silently praying outside an abortion clinic. She told the Dublin gathering that defending conscience and faith had become “one of the most pressing battles of our time,” urging attendees to remain steadfast: “Every quiet act of faithfulness matters.”
