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THE CATHOLIC CONGREGATION which ran the Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork has claimed it does not know where the bodies of more than 800 children connected to it are buried.
Today fifth interim report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy, was published. In it the commission said the affidavit provided by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was “speculative, inaccurate and misleading”.
More than 900 children died in Bessborough or in hospital after being transferred from this home. The commission said despite extensive inquiries and searches it has been able to establish the burial place of only 64 of these children.
The congregation has stated it does not know where the other 836 children are buried and provided “very little evidence” to support the statements made in its affidavit, according to the report.
The commission has also established that the burials of children who died in the three Sacred Heart homes – Bessborough, Castlepollard and Sean Ross – are not recorded at all.
The commission said it finds it “very difficult to comprehend” that the congregation does not know where the children who died at Bessborough are buried.
‘Surprising she does not remember’
One member of the congregation who was in Bessborough for most of the period 1948- 1998 told the commission that she did not remember any child deaths during her time there but she implied that the children who did die there were buried in the congregation burial ground.
In the years 1950-1960, 31 children died in Bessborough. Today’s report points out “it is rather surprising that she does not remember any deaths”.
Another member of the congregation who was there in the 80s said there were two children buried in the small graveyard where members of the congregation are buried.
And one nun who was in Bessborough in 1971 and then again between 1975 and 1981 said she remembered one child being buried in this graveyard.
The commission found the recollections of these two congregation members “seem to be incorrect”.
In fact, it would appear that there is only one child buried in the congregation’s burial ground and that burial took place in 1994. The burial ground has some individual memorials to other children who died in Bessborough but it is unlikely that they are buried in this plot.
Where could they be buried?
The report said it is unlikely that all the children who died in Bessborough were buried in this burial ground as it is not nearly large enough for the number of children involved.
It is possible, it said, that children are buried within the grounds which measure 60 acres, or in grounds that no longer form part of the estate – a total area of 200 acres – but there is no evidence of systematic burial anywhere other than the small burial ground.
The commission found that while it is “highly likely” burials did take place on the home’s grounds, it is not feasible to excavate 200 acres of land.
In the period between the opening of the home in 1922 and March 1929, 54 children who died in Bessborough were buried in St Joseph’s Cemetery, which was owned by the Society of African Missions (SMA).
The congregation paid the SMA ten shillings for the burial of each child in the “poor ground” section of the cemetery. It then recouped the cost from the health authority responsible for each child’s maintenance.
The commission said the abrupt cessation of child burials at St Joseph’s in June 1928 may have had something to do with costs.
“If these deaths had occurred in Cork County Home, or Cork District Hospital, the South Cork Board would have arranged burials in its burial ground, the Cork District Cemetery at Carr’s Hill, at no additional cost to the local authority.
Considering that the next identifiable burial place of a Bessborough child is at this burial ground, in 1960, it seems plausible to suggest that the remains of unclaimed Bessborough children who died between June 1928 and 1960 may have been buried by the South Cork Board in Cork District Cemetery, Carr’s Hill. However, the commission has been unable to find any direct evidence of this.
The commission also found:
The mother of the child buried in Carr’s Hill was told by the congregation in 1994 that her child was buried in the Bessborough burial ground.
There were 113 Bessborough children who subsequently died in Cork District Hospital/St Finbarr’s Hospital. A former administrator at the hospital confirmed to the commission that the South Cork Board of Assistance assumed responsibility for the burial of these children and that many are buried in Carr’s Hill.
However the commission has been unable to confirm this.
The Commissions’s report said the identification of children in St Joseph’s burial records is “interesting” as it demonstrates the congregation assumed responsibility for the burial of children who died in Bessborough.
It also shows that those infants were not buried in the grounds of Bessborough but were buried in a number of different locations.
Deaths of residents at the home
Between November 1927 and January 1985, 12 adult women, all former residents of the Bessborough Home, were buried in a congregation-owned burial plot at St Joseph’s Cemetery.
This plot is marked by a headstone which lies broken in three pieces. The inscription is unreadable but Judge Murphy said it is unlikely that it bears the names of women buried in the plot.
The women buried here remained in Bessborough for extended periods working as domestic servants; their deaths were not childbirth related.
One woman entered Bessborough in 1922, aged 20 years, and remained there until her death in 1984 – a period of 62 years. Another entered Bessborough in 1924, aged 21 years, and remained there until her death in 1985 – a period of 60 years.
The commission has established that there were an additional 14 deaths of mothers who were Bessborough residents. Nine of these seem to be pregnancy or childbirth
related.
The commission has not been able to establish the burial place of these 14 women. Six were private patients. Eight mothers were public patients; two of these died in Bessborough, five in Cork District Hospital/St Finbarr’s and one in Dungarvan County Home.
‘Illegitimate’ children
Judge Murphy said it should be noted that several hundred neo-natal deaths during the period under review were recorded among “legitimate” children born in or admitted to Cork District Hospital/St Finbarr’s.
The commission identified hundreds of burial records relating to these “legitimate” children who died there.
Of the 552 “illegitimate” children who died in Cork District Hospital/St Finbarr’s, (including 113 transferred from Bessborough), the commission has identified the burial place of only five.
Between 1922 and 1998, a combined total of 1,343 “illegitimate” children died; 771 died in Bessborough; 552 died in St Finbarr’s Hospital and 20 subsequently died elsewhere.
To date, the commission has identified the burial places of just 64 children.
“Despite having undertaken an intensive investigation the burial locations of 1,279 of these children remain unknown,” the report said.
“A common factor which links the majority of the yet unlocated children is that almost 92% were born to public patients maintained in Bessborough and Cork County Home by boards of public assistance.”
Minister of Children Katherine Zappone earlier made an appeal for those who know where the remains of these children are to let the commission know.
“Maybe then finally they can be treated with dignity in death and this is my hope as Minister for Children in Ireland.”
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Appalling. No doubt the majority of perpetrators never see the inside of a prison cell.
Yesterday I read on this very site an article about a woman who was left for dead for several hours after her ex-partner battered her with a kettlebell.. then last week there was the story in Omeath and I read another story in my local newspaper a little while ago about a woman who had her knee caps smashed in a domestic incident. These women and women like them desperately need support and help to get themselves out of these violent life or death situations. So give over with the petty “boys vs girls” squabbling and lets support these services because with out them, i have no doubt there would be countless more deaths as a result of domestic violence
Did you read about the woman arrested today in connection with the murder of a musician in Sligo?
Dell, have you ever been a victim of domestic abuse? If not, shut up.
How about you take your own advice David!
You’re a waffler Del, you clearly haven’t a clue about domestic abuse beyond what you read in the independent. Men who have been victims of abuse, like my self are completely sickened by ignoramus’s like you.
So just because you were abused, then we shouldn’t help other people who were abused? Is that right? That my friend is real ignorance! I’ve written in a thread on a different article about my experience with being sexually abused as a child by a male neighbour so I’m very familiar abuse! And actually because of my experiences, I am more in favour of providing services and support to others. I don’t think that just because I suffered and didn’t have support that others shouldn’t, in fact my feelings are completely the opposite. I know the impact and think the more services and support people have the better. That’s what real empathy is!
Well its good to see you have changed your tune from your previous waffle
@Del Nobody is advocating for DV, for harming another person, what they are saying however is that it is a social, and cultural injustice for certain feminist groups to claim that DV can only be committed against women and children by men. This gives the wrong social impression that men don’t suffer from DV, they are well able to stand up for themselves and sure the tiny minority that might won’t really affect the figures that much.
Nothing could be further from reality. You cited a number of high profile DV cases against women recently and as others have said the studies have repeatedly shown there will be just as many carried out against men, we probably won’t hear about them but they’ll happen none the less. Other studies have proven that if a man is violent to a woman in a public place, within seconds people will intervene, whereas when a woman is violent to a man people do nothing, they laugh, some video the altercation, some cheer her on. Society assumes men are guilty of something, even when they’re being abused, we’ve been conditioned to believe this.
We often hear calls for equality, women call for it in the workplace, equality in pay, equality in all walks of life, and rightly so. But not when it comes to DV services. Ask for a breakdown of where the funding goes and I guarantee the doors will slam shut in your face, those precious few DV services there are for men like AMEN struggle for funding while the lions share goes to women’s groups, 95%+. I realise all these services have to fundraise themselves to make up the inevitable shortfall but this is anything but equality.
If the shoe were on the other foot and men were to attempt to socially condition the country to believe something that flies in the face of so much evidence to the contrary, to year after year take almost all the available grants, then turn around and preach about equality, we’d be rightly slaughtered. So why should women be spared this indignity? We’re either equal or we’re not.
@Del
Oh look, another 3 women arrested in the last half hour over a murder in West meath – http://www.thejournal.ie/six-arrested-stoskus-murder-investigation-2402872-Oct2015/
it just keeps on coming, doesn’t it?
Strange, you left out the fact that 3 men were also arrested Alan… I’m sure this was an honest mistake though!
Yvonne is right. If anything maybe this just highlights that both sexes are equally capable of violence, it’s absurd to believe that women are incapable of DV, we need to see it and address it as a social issue effecting both sexes equally.
We can’t seriously say, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, that DV is only committed by men against women therefore all the funding should go towards women’s groups, and in the next breath they want equality.
But Yvonne. That’s exactly what the entire organisation in the article does. so why not comment on that?
It’s exactly what Del just did, so why not comment on that?
To all the men, who are once again, hijacking another article highlighting the terrible DV abuse that some men cause… Get this… IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU!!!
The day an article appears where 800 MEN have been victims, (and that won’t happen for a long time) feel free to comment all you want. Until then, think about what you can do in THIS CASE.
STOP trying to deflect the attention from a clearly extremely serious issue onto yourself please. You’ve not got one single comment to make here on anything in relation to what’s said in the article. And if you’ve been a victim, I would have thought you’d have at least some empathy!!
@Alexa Don’t you understand yet men are not trying to hijack this article, any I know are appalled by DV and by being automatically associated with it and by being labelled a potential abuser, a rapist, an abuser. This is representative of a small minority, not all, the rest of us have mothers, sisters, daughters and perhaps wives whom we care deeply for.
This article is primarily about DV, like you it only cares about the victims who are women and children, but statistically we know for a fact there are just as many male victims out there who have no services, who get no funding. As you’ve just commented, they have to listen to snide remarks from people who believe they and their plight doesn’t exist.
This isn’t about a lack of empathy, if anything that’s coming from you, male victims of DV live in the shadows, but they DO find it extremely insulting every time to listen to lectures about DV where they don’t exist, where there are all these services, but not for them. It simply isn’t equality.
Alexa you’re right of course. But whistling in the wind I’m afraid. They just can’t stop trying to get in on the act.
@ Sharkey. Again, what have you got to say about this article?? Any suggestions to stop domestic violence? How do the facts in the article affect you? Are you not appalled for these women and disgusted at the men who could commit such crimes against women?
Here’s a suggestion for you if you want equality. Join the DV fight and stop going on with the same old ‘what about me’ attitude pitting one against the other. It doesn’t work like that. Things just don’t work the other way around I’m afraid.
@ Sharky. And if you don’t like the fact that the article leaves out men, it’s because there were 800 WOMEN victims in one day!!! Not men. And some of them were pregnant!! Do you not find that appalling?? Put things into perspective please and focus.
All comments so far are from males. All try to detract from this particular article. Typical.
Do the maths there… They don’t give a damn unless it affects them, or they try and make it about themselves.
This is a serious social issue and needs to be sorted quickly so if you have an ulterior agenda just park it and focus on the problem at hand.
Carol, have you ever been a victim of domestic abuse? The levels of DV toward men are hugely under reported. Before you talk about maths, do I bit of research and break away from the narrow feminist out look.
Ive been called a lot of things but never a female
“All comments so far are from males. ”
So what? Do you think men should not have an opinion or there opinions are less than yours? That makes you a sexist. Simple as that.
“This is a serious social issue and needs to be sorted quickly so if you have an ulterior agenda just park it and focus on the problem at hand”
That’s exactly what has been said. It is a SOCIAL issue, NOT a gendered one. In fact, it is a relationship issue of you want to be accurate. I reject this group, and I also resent them getting a red cent of taxpayers money as they are sexist sanctimonious hypocrites that have no hesitation blaming one gender for a problem cause d by both genders,.
And you too are a sexist sanctimonious hypocrite.
@Carol If women wish to post articles and be taken seriously by all men and women then DV has to be taken seriously against both sexes, it cannot be assumed to be a crime perpetrated by men against women and children. Various studies have shown that women are just as capable of DV as men, who are far less likely to report it because of attitudes like this, multiple European and American studies have shown both sexes are equally violent.
What Alan said above is correct, if a man in this country is suffering from DV where are the refuges, where can he flee to a place of safety with his children? We’ve established that there are just as many men in this country suffering from DV but with little or no help for them out there. I can guarentee you if there was to be true equality in the morning and the funding for these services were to be split down the middle, male and female victims of DV getting 50% of the funding you’d see all these women’s groups loose their minds. As things stand they have direct representation into the Taoiseach’s Office, but men don’t have anything comparible, hardly equality is it?
Within hours of Garda Tony Golden’s death feminist groups were jumping on the bandwagon to associate the tragedy with DV, something I personally found apalling.
A brother of a friend of mine was in a very abusive relationship and ended up having to leave the family home. The judge gave custody to the mother ever though there was significant evidence to show she was abusive. He is paying for her lifestyle now under the guises of paying for the children and living in a bed sit. His advise is always be careful whobyou have kids with, ironically he is self victim blaming.
Was this woman abusive towards just him or the children. Surely if there was evidence of abuse towards the children she would not have got custody. Were they married?
Carol, these articles always bring out the what-about-us brigade
yeah, what about us Bridget? Do you have a problem with men speaking up? Does that hurt you so much?
Not at all Alan. Everyone’s opinion is important and men who are victims of domestic abuse who seek assistance and a safe place to stay have my full support. But this article is about women, and ‘what-about-us’ deflects from that. If it were a article about domestic violence towards men I would see no reason why women should come on and cry what-about-us. Everything isn’t about you, Alan
Such a misleading headline. They didn’t seek help on one day. They were in a shelter on one day and presumably entered those facilities over a period of time. The problem is bad enough and serious enough without sensationalist headlines.
Sorry John the report is not just refuges it also includes women who looked for support from specialized support services on that day too. This is the reality every day.
Yeah and the reality for men who are abused by there partners, is that they are forced to leave their home and children. All the while paying for their abusers lifestyle if they want to get paltry visitation with said children. None of this is ever reported and I hope a male relative or friend if yours Never goes through it.
I think John was referring to the headline and not the report itself Anne. The headline states that nearly 800 women and children sought help in one day. To me that suggests that on that particular day, there were 800 new instances of women and children seeking help from organisations, that that day was when they made initial contact. The report however, seems to indicate that the figure of 800 is the total number of cases being dealt with on that given day, not 800 new cases on top of previously existing cases from days and weeks prior. The headline for this article misrepresents the findings of the report. Pointing out the innaccuracy of the headline is not a criticism of the report itself.
Yet almost everyone in Ireland thinks its okay to hit kids.
This group above have no qualms whatsoever in not accepting the children of male victims of DV, yet shout about DV as if they have a monopoly on it. They can take a run and jump for all I care as long as that situation stays a reality.
They are just another propaganda group that uses emotive rhetoric on DV while selectively ignoring the very same children they pretend they give a shit about, if it so happens mammy is doing the violence.
They can all take a run and jump until they either become, or are forced to, become gender neutral.
Yeah I think a lot of people had to put up with a crazy mother at least once a month
@carmo, you dead right, shocking poll results again yesterday show the majority of Irish still think it acceptable to hit children.. Cowardly act hitting a defenceless child.
It’s great to see domestic abuse being highlighted in the media today (similar article written in the independent) but with both articles they fail to mention the percentage of males who suffer domestic violence, which is also a problem too in today’s society.
why are there so many different domestic violence groups, surely they should all amalgamate together, then the could cut out expensive board members and put the money towards victims………
The level of domestic abuse, in terms of emotional and mental abuse, within relationships of young people in their teens is scary. Young lads wanting their girlfriends viber location on to know where they are, their social media passwords, not wanting them out with friends, controlling behaviours
Where are you getting your statistics on the levels of emotional or mental abuse in teenage relationships?
There was an article last week on this very publication as to how levels of self harm between boys and girls are now even. How does that fit in with your take on things Selita?
Bren I have spent over a decade working in the youth sector, myself and my colleagues have noted the increase of emotional and mental abuse within relationships. Unhealthy control over another from what to wear, who they can talk to, where they can go etc. it has gotten to the stage where many of the young people see this as normal!
I would totally believe that to be true. We all carry nice shiny gps trackers in our pocket these days, and some spend all day sharing their every thought and impulse on them. Its possible that this gives some people a greater sense of entitlement to know the every detail of the lives of those around them, particularly their significant other (or whatever the politically correct terminology for yer moh is this week), and they got the means to get pretty close to being able to do that. And the desire to control others lives and actions has probably always been inherent in (some) people. So I’m no doubting that you’re seeing more of this invasive, controlling behaviour, but is it something you’re seeing exclusively in young lads? Or is it more prevalent in young lads?
Lads tis no point giving out here on journal about the lack of resourses for men of DV. Is there anything out there for men in these situations? And if not why not? And if there is nothing start a group/movement specifically for men of DV and let yourself be heard. Join up with other male issues such as suicide prevention unmarried fathers /fathers rights. Get onto law reform. Inform main stream media not just the comments section on journal. It goes nowhere.
Remember tis voting time coming around the corner start nagging all td’s all parties. http://www.contact.ie is very handy but remember after the voting you still need to hound gov bodies so that they are reminded that ye are out there and here to stay. I would support anything that helps men and women’s groups to stop this bullying /passive agression/dv. For society sake.
These organisations are discriminatory. The law is what needs to be changed. It’s that simple. They either allow men in or they get no money. That’s the solution.
How dare they call themselves “Safe Ireland” when they leave out half of the population.
They are safe place for some women not all if i read it right. It’s not ideal but to not have it would be worse. As its worse for men now with no support There needs to be a seperate one from men of dv. think a total overhaul of the law but they have being saying that for years. Start joining some mens groups get your voice heard you will not be heard here on journal.
No they’re not Alan. They were fought hard for. Go do it if you need the services and for Petes sake stop whining
Roisin, these articles are purposely biased to wind men up. Do women who are at risk deserve help? of course? But bodies such as SAFE are nothing but a bunch of feminist who want to vilify men because they are misandrists. As someone who has been a victim of DV, disgusting campaigns like the laughable “man up” are really hurtful. Women are as capable of violence as men(I know first hand) and while domestic violence toward men is not as destructive, it still deserves attend, and it never talked about in the media. In fact bodies like the national women’s council, openly lie about statistics simplely to increase their funding.
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