Several hundred people gathered in Wexford today for a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of last year's container tragedy, in which eight stowaways perished.
The stowaways' bodies were discovered when a freight container was opened at a business park in the town after arriving from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The stowaways thought they were being brought to Dover - a half day's journey.
Instead, the sealed 40-ft metal container that they died in was brought on a 53-hour sailing in rough seas to the Port of Waterford where it arrived on December 6, 2001.
After docking at Waterford, the container - which was loaded with office furniture - was transported to Wexford Business Park at Drinagh where it was opened two days later.
Inside were the remains of two men in their 20s; a 41-year-old man and his 10 and 12-year-old children and a 28-year-old woman along with her two sons aged nine and three.
The survivors of the tragedy - some of whom attended today's anniversary ceremony in Wexford - included a man, woman and teenage boy from Turkish Kurdistan as well as two men from Albania and Algeria.
Among those in Wexford yesterday was Mr Huseyin Erdogan, brother-in-law of Mr Hasan Kalendergil who died along with his children Zeliha, 10, and Kalendar, 12.
Mr Erdogan recited a Kurdish poem entitled The Eight Swallows. Mr Kalendergil's wife Kadriye, who was visibly upset during yesterday's proceedings, thanked those who attended the remembrance ceremony.
Also present was Mr Karadede Güler who lost his wife Saniye and children Imam, 9, and Berkan, 3. Addressing the dead, Mr Güler said "I am left alone on my own in this world, no-one to understand me. Birds sing songs while I cry on your grave; a grave is no place for you. It has no windows or doors. My heart is aching without you. I wish we could all go home together."
A survivor of the container tragedy, Mr Eyup Isik, spoke through an interpreter to thank the people of Wexford for their care and to sympathise with the grieving families. Mr Isik is now 17 and working in Wexford. He hopes to make a return visit to Turkey in June.