
Mothers and babies: ‘The day I arrived in Bessborough, I landed in the bowels of hell’
Award-winning BBC journalist and producer Deirdre Finnerty kept a picture beside her desk while writing her first book. It was a photograph of Bessborough House, the grand country mansion with a red door on the outskirts of Cork city which operated as one of Ireland’s first and largest mother and baby institutions. READ ARTICLE HERE

Edited Extracts from the annual Report of the Special Rapporteur for Children 2022
[ Pages 69 129 ] In summary, all of the themes considered in this Chapter disclose substantial evidence cited in the Commission Report that is indicative of violations of provisions of the ECHR [ i.e European Convention on Human Rights ]. The Commission Report provided an abundance of evidence of each of these factors in

CLANN
The purpose of Clann is to help establish the truth of what happened to unmarried mothers and their children in 20th century Ireland. “Gathering the Data” is a joint initiative of Adoption Rights Alliance (ARA) and Magdalenes Research (JFMR). ARA, JFMR and the global law firm, Hogan Lovells, published the Clann Project’s final Report which drew

Mother & Bay Home Redress Scheme: 2022
The long awaited Bill to give survivors of mother and baby homes redress payments is to go to Cabinet in April 2022. However it now appears that interim payments, particularly to the elderly, have been effectively ruled out. The design of the scheme is predicated on a single payment based on evidence of residency. The

Mother and baby home redress scheme to go to Cabinet next week
Scheme will open next year with a projected cost of some €800 million. View Article Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Mother & Baby Homes Redress Scheme: Access Widened
In a welcome development on the Mother & Baby Homes scandal the Minister for Children has now advised that whereas the Redress Scheme will take account of the recommendations of the Commission of Investigations it will not be limited to them. Women who spent less than six months in the homes and those resident after

The Irish State – Investigations, Reports and Redress Schemes – Book Review
“Between 1922 and 1996, over 10,000 girls and women were imprisoned in Magdalene Laundries, including those considered ‘promiscuous’, a burden to their families or the state, those who had been sexually abused or raised in the care of the Church and State, and unmarried mothers. These girls and women were subjected to forced labour as

Will this be Opportunity Lost 2.0?
State must ‘learn from mistakes’ of past redress schemes. Click the link to view article on The Journal

State planning to fight legal claims by survivors of mother and baby homes
State planning to fight legal claims by survivors of mother and baby homes : Irish Independent: Shane Phelan [ March 12 -2021 ] Correspondence shows State plans to argue survivors’ claims fall outside the statute of limitations The State is planning to fight legal claims being taken by survivors of mother and baby homes, the

Mother & Baby Homes Report
The long awaited Mother and Baby Homes Report has been published and the Commission has set out its findings and recommendations in an attempt to address the many complaints of former residents. These have been identified as deficiencies in the information and tracing system for births and deaths and redress for the wrongs committed. It