Sir, – Mary Raftery is and always will be my hero. She gave me and countless others a voice when we were voiceless, marginalised and ignored. She listened with interest to our stories and, most importantly, she believed us. She then tenaciously travelled to the ends of the earth to uncover and expose the truth on our behalf.
My sincerest condolences to Mary’s husband David and son Ben; and to her friend and researcher Sheila Ahern.
Rest in peace Mary, for all the good you’ve done and the many lives you’ve touched. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Mary Rafferty. I had never met her, but have admired her work for many years. In my work as a psychotherapist with the adult survivors of clerical, child sexual abuse, I am acutely aware that many survivors only got the courage to seek help due to her ground-breaking work.
It may be tempting for certain people to feel that they can sleep more safely in their beds now that she is no longer with us, however I feel that the doors that Mary Raftery opened can never be closed again. It might take a large group of journalists to achieve what she achieved singlehandedly, however I feel that the process that she started can never be reversed. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The institutional church and the politicians appear to have forgotten how to tell the truth. The late Mary Rafferty searched for the truth, told the truth and was the truth. Let us be positive with the truth in 2012. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I too am very sorry to hear of the death of Mary Raftery, the campaigning journalist.
She was one of the first journalists to see the importance of the Bethany Home and abuse of children (and their mothers) in a non-Roman Catholic institution. Her observation in The Irish Timesin 2004 that exclusion of Bethany from the Irish government's redress scheme seemed sectarian was very much appreciated.
We will continue to bend the Government’s ear with her words that will live on long after she is now gone from us. – Yours, etc,