It was essential that we were constantly reminded of the tragic consequences there could be when a problem such as drugs was neglected, the President, Mrs McAleese, said yesterday.
The President was speaking at the unveiling of a memorial in Dublin's north-east inner city to the hundreds of young people from the area who have died as a result of heroin.
Around 200 people were there to hear the President and Mr Terry Fagan, who spoke on behalf of the relatives of young drug victims. His sister lost three children, aged between 18 and their early 20s, in two years.
The memorial is a sculpture by local sculptor Leo Higgins. Entitled Home, it stands as an eight-foot flame of gilded bronze, housed within a limestone structure. In darkness it is floodlit by uplights.
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