On Sunday Pavee Point attended the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin.
Kristian Simonic and Jessica Simonic, representing the Roma community in Ireland, took part in the candle lighting ceremony, remembering Roma and Sinti victims of the Holocaust. It is estimated that 500,000 Roma and Sinti were murdered, and another 500,000 displaced, during the Holocaust.
With some 600 people attending the event, political leaders joined survivors and families of victims of the Holocaust, along with members of the Jewish and Roma communities in Ireland. Speaking to those gathered, Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid special tribute to those second, third, and fourth generation Jewish and Roma survivors: “I stand in awe of each one of you. Collectively, we salute your extraordinary fortitude and thank you for your commitment to promoting the peaceful and respectful coexistence of humankind”.
The Taoiseach expressed his concern about modern attitudes regarding the Holocaust, stating that incomprehension of the devastation perpetrated must not lead to inattention: “Inattention allows hate and prejudice to insinuate themselves into public and private discourse”.
He voiced his shock at recent reports of ignorance and denial amongst young people in Ireland with regards to the Holocaust, and where one third of Irish people have encountered Holocaust denial or distortion while on social media.
The Taoiseach affirmed that every decent person should be appalled at the levels of antisemitism that still exist, and pointed to the positive work taking place in this respect between the Department of Education and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, and their development of an education programme for Irish schools.
Holocaust Memorial Day takes place tomorrow, January 27, and marks the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The theme for this year’s anniversary is ‘Bridging Generations’.
Reading Pavee Point’s booklet on ‘The genocide of Roma during the Holocaust’ here: https://www.paveepoint.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Final-Roma-booklet.pdf
Pictured: Kristian Simonic and Jessica Simonic with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin
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