Blacksmiths forge ahead with rose tribute to Norway’s loss

IRISH blacksmiths have created nearly two dozen iron roses which will form part of a memorial to the 77 people killed in Norway by extremist Anders Behring Breivik.

In the days that followed the July atrocity, the streets of Oslo were covered with roses as people mourned the loss of life. Some 150,000 people carried roses when they took part in a march in Oslo three days after the killings to show their solidarity with those who died. The rose is also the symbol of the Norwegian Labour party, whose youth camp members were gunned down on Utoya island after Breivik earlier detonated a bomb in the capital, Oslo.

“There was no hesitation when we were asked to make a rose each,” said blacksmith Gerard Loughran, who forged his rose from mild steel.