The Garden of Eternal Love opens in Salthill

A NEW memorial garden in Galway is dedicated to supporting families who have experienced pregnancy loss, infant loss, and baby loss.

An Gairdín Síoghrá, The Garden of Eternal Love has been unveiled by Galway City Council at the Quincentennial Park, Salthill, to provide a peaceful and reflective space for remembrance, comfort, and healing.

The garden has been designed and developed through a collaborative partnership between Galway City Council, Councillor Clodagh Higgins and several national bereavement support organisations.

The Council worked closely with Féileacáin, Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support Ireland; FirstLight; LMC Bereavement Support; A Little Lifetime Foundation; and The Miscarriage Association of Ireland to ensure the garden would provide an inclusive and sensitive space for remembrance.

The expertise, guidance and lived experience shared by the bereavement support groups played a central role in informing the design of the garden, inclusivity and the symbolic elements incorporated throughout the space.

It has been created to honour the memory of babies lost and to acknowledge the diverse experiences of grief and bereavement faced by individuals and families following such loss.

“This is a beautiful space, but we must also remember why it was created,” said the Mayor of Galway City, Cllr Helen Ogbu.

“For many families, this grief can be profound and, at times, invisible. Today, Galway is saying clearly: your loss matters, your child is remembered, and your grief has a place here,” she added.

Cllr Ogbu further acknowledged the efforts of Cllr Clodagh Higgins, who secured funding for the development of the garden in 2024, in response to representations from constituents on the lack of a dedicated memorial space.