Ireland Lights Up in Recognition of Family Carers

Bank of Ireland, College Green

Friday, 4^th October 2024: Family Carers Ireland is proud to announce that on Sunday, 6^th October, 20 iconic monuments and landmarks across the country will be illuminated to mark European Carers Day. This initiative aims to bring visibility to the vital but often overlooked role played by family carers - people who provide unpaid and often round-the-clock care for loved ones, enabling them to live with dignity in their homes and communities – and calls for urgent policy reforms to support them.

To mark European Carers Day, organisations supporting family carers across Europe are calling on policymakers and stakeholders to acknowledge family carers as equal partners in care, to invest in better support systems, advocate for stronger carer rights and elevate carers’ voices in policymaking.

While these illuminations are a visual tribute to family carers, they are also a call to action for greater awareness and tangible support. Family carers often sacrifice their own needs - financial security, career opportunities, and even their own health - to provide care for others. Family Carers Ireland continues to advocate for increased supports, including better access to respite care, financial assistance and services that support family carers’ health and wellbeing.

To honour this hidden workforce, prominent landmarks across Ireland will be illuminated including Iarnród Éireann’s Athlone Railway Bridge; Heuston Station; Irish Life’s Northumberland Square and fountain; Bank of Ireland College Green; Áras Mhic Dhiarmada; Casino Marino; Collins Barracks; and Dublin Castle’s Bedford Tower. Other OPW sites include the Department of Education; the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Farmleigh Water Tower; the Four Courts; Kilkenny Castle; the National Concert Hall; the National Library; Phoenix Park Roundabout; the Rock of Cashel; and the Wolfe Tone Monument in St. Stephen’s Green. These illuminations serve as a powerful visual tribute to the often-unseen care provided daily in homes across the country.

Catherine Cox, Head of Communications and Policy at Family Carers Ireland, emphasised the importance of highlighting the contributions of family carers: "Family carers provide essential care that allows people to stay in their homes, but their efforts are often unseen and undervalued. By lighting up landmarks such as Kilkenny Castle, Heuston Station, the Four Courts, City Hall, and Rock of Cashel, we want to send a clear message: we see you, and you are not alone. This is a moment to recognise the incredible care that happens behind closed doors every day and to remind family carers that no one should have to care alone.”