Mags GarganArchbishop Diarmuid Martin described her as “a woman of courage”.
Abuse victim and campaigner Christine Buckley has died after a long illness.
As a child and adolescent, Mrs Buckley was a resident of St Vincent’s Industrial School, also known as ‘Goldenbridge orphanage’ and featured in a documentary about her experiences in that institution called Dear Daughter which aired in 1996 and sparked a huge public outcry.
It is credited with allowing many other abuse victims and former residents of orphanages and institutions to come forward with their own experiences.
Along with the documentary, States of Fear, it helped to pave the way for the setting up of the Ryan Commission which investigated abuse in mostly Church-run children’s institutions and also to the setting up of a compensation fund for abuse victims.
Dear Daughter was also at the centre of a controversy because of claims it made about the nun, Sr Xavieria.
A group of individuals who had been in institutions run by Sr Xavieria emerged to defend her against some of the claims of abuse made against her.
Sr Xavieria ran Goldenbridge orphange for a time. Later Ms Buckley set up Aislinn, a support and education group for former residents of Industrial Schools in Ireland.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin described her as "a woman of courage".