A MEMORIAL marking the resting place of more than 7,000 babies buried in the `Baby Haven' in Belfast City Cemetery was officially unveiled yesterday.
The memorial, which was created out of Kilkenny limestone by sculptor Charlotte Howarth, was designed with the help of families whose young relatives are buried in the previously unmarked Plot Z1.
The babies buried in the plot were stillborn or died shortly after birth, with the hospital or social services taking responsibility for their burial.
The last burial in the plot was in 1996.
While Belfast City Council holds records for all babies buried within the plot, no one individual owns specific graves and therefore there are no individual headstones or memorials.
The new memorial was officially unveiled yesterday by Belfast lord mayor John Finucane.
"I trust that the families will consider this a fitting tribute for their loved ones who are buried here and this permanent memorial will ensure that these lives, however short, will always be remembered," he said.
