My brother died unnecessarily in the care of a mother & baby institution in Cork, Ireland... seeking truth and accountability.
#MotherAndBabyHomes
#Bessborough
.
At 18 my mother had a baby boy in a
#MotherAndBabyHome
He died & she was never given details. When she was 52 she went back to the convent looking for info. She was told he was buried on the grounds. She was refused to place a marker for him. At 77 she found out he was buried 1/5
It took 25 years for a letter that was intended for my mother to get into her hands that revealed the place her baby was buried in 1960. In 2019 a letter said my brother was buried in
#CarrsHill
Cemetery. My mother went yesterday. She placed flowers on the wall & a painted 1/4
She would like to see some justice for her beautiful boy, she would like to see an inquest into his death. William neednβt have died & we want this acknowledged & then we can finally give William a proper goodbye. 5/5
#Bessborough
#Bessboro
#aMothersLove
I walked the same area in March where is was possible to see the pits and graves after it was cleared for archeological work. I hope that this place becomes somewhere everyone can visit with easier access with the graveyard being sensitively maintained. 4/4
She realised this. We continued trying to find info for baby William. My motherβs grief for her baby is as raw today as then. Why we canβt let it rest is because we know there was a terrible injustice done to William, born healthy but through incompetence & neglect 3/5
in Carrβs Hill Cemetary. It has been a lifetime of heartache for her. She was never allowed to mourn for him. I was the first person she told when I moved from London to Cork.I gave birth to my 3rd son in the same hospital my brother had died. My mother was inconsolable when 2/5
was left without the early medical intervention that could have saved his life. My motherβs pleas for help landed on death ears. She torments herself over this time wondering if she could have shouted louder but she was demonised for even asking. Now she is 81 this year 4/5
stone with Williamβs name on it. As she looks on to the 5 acre site she doesnβt know where her baby is buried described by some as the famine or paupers graveyard where itβs estimated 30,000 people were buried. There is not one marker in the whole site for any individual. 2/4
My mother wanted to sit for a while & reflect but there is no where. She walked through the tall grass hoping she would pass nearby where her son was buried.
Itβs also feasible that over 100
#Bessborobabies
are buried here. 3/4
Sign, Share, print off & hang in the community. Help us preserve the grounds of
#Bessborough
where 923 children & 31 women died. The burial place of 859 children are unknown. Many died & were buried without their mothers present.They deserved better
#Truth
My mother atCarrβs Hill Cemetery for the1st time after hearing her son was buried there over 58yrs ago.A lonely figure looking for any evidence of burials on a huge site. It is also believed 113 children that died in StFinbarrs hosp that were born inBessboro are also buried here.
It HURTS to watch people celebrating with the
@Pontifex
at the WMF whilst the circumstances of my brothers death was never investigated and to this day even after many enquires, his burial place is unknown along with 100βs of children that died in Bessboro Cork.
#standfortruth
@pamsnowden439
We had our10th
#Bessboro
Commemoration on Sunday &we were able with the help of
@danielmloftus
to put the majority of those that died on display.Having their names acknowledged is something very important to us but the priority at the moment is the truth of whre they are buried.
@FigureGraveyard
Yes, 923 children died. Hundreds maybe be buried on the grounds of
#Bessboro
but no extensive investigation has been carried out. The govt are not interested. To memorialise comes at the end. I would like to see the childrenβs truth told.
60yrs ago today my brother was born in Bessboro a healthy 7lb11oz. For 26yrs we visited Bessboro as thatβs where my mother was told he was buried until last year we found out he is buried at Carrβs Hill Cemetary. I was torn today where to go so I went to both.
Our son Ryan picking up his specially modified car today from Southern Mobility Solutions, which will enable him to drive again and regain some independence. A huge thank you to everyone who donated to Ryan's fundraiser and all
@RockiesCork
for their tremendous support.
Behind these gates somewhere are the remains of my brother and possibly around 120
#Bessboro
children that died in St.Finbarrβs hospital. There is only 1 doc for 1 child that confirms this.
#TheMissingChildren
#MissingRecords
For 27 years I have laid flowers & lit candles for my brother, a
#Bessboro
baby but never at the place where he is buried because he is buried in an unmarked grave. The Govt & religious are responsible for this shame, not my mother or Society.
#TheMissingChildren
What is the point of An Garda SΓochΓ‘na inviting people to come forward regarding
#MotherandBabyHomes
& then tell you nothing can be done cos of passage of time but your mother can make still make a statement which maybe traumatic for her. Just a PR exercise.
It was Easter 4 years ago that my mother discovered from reading the MBHCOI 5th Interim Report that her baby had been buried in
#CarrsHill
Cemetery. A letter that should have been given to her 25 years earlier.
#MotherAndBabyHomes
#Bessboro
1/8
July 2023 - we have come one step closer to getting an inquest for William. A high court judge has granted leave
to have my motherβs case heard against the Cork City Coroner who refused an inquest into baby Williamβs death.
#JusticeForWilliam
If you believe in justice for 923+ children you will do an independent investigation on the grounds of
#Bessborough
Stop the speculation & get on with finding out how the children lived, died & where they are buried for the sake of everything that is decent.
@rodericogorman
#Stolen
The MBHCOI found no/to little evidence of abuse. My mother went to the investigative committee & explained that she pleaded with the nuns for her baby to see a doctor. It took them 16 days to send him to hospital. She was not permitted to go with him. Buried without her.
This isthe 1st time I have published this letter because it was so personal to me&my mum.This is the letter that gives details of my brother in hosp, he was buried 11days after he died.This is the letter theMBHCI refused to give directly to us. Info my mum shld hve rec 25 yrs ago
@ClaireF1803
Iβm so sorry Claire. What a huge loss. I see my mums grief even after all this time. Itβs compounded by the fact no one listen to her, like yourself she was in labour for 36 hours. Sending our condolences and love x
Thereβs nowhere else I wanted to be this morning. Thinking of mothers and children who died in
#Bessboro
. The decision to refuse planning on the grounds was the right one.
Where do I place the flowers at Carrβs Hill in memory of William & the other
#Bessborobabies
. I donβt know where theyβre buried. William in morgue for 11days without my mothers knowledge. She was told he was dead& already buried on grounds of
#Bessboro
.
Please donβt forget the
#Bessboro
& County home children buried here. My mother didnβt find out until 2019 that her precious baby boy was buried here somewhere on this 5Β½ acre site without her knowledge. Photo of her looking for evidence of where her baby might be buried
63yrs ago today a little baby boy died without his mother &for 59yrs she didnβt know whr he was buried.She still doesnβt have a grave to visit but the name of a Cemetary. With immediate medical attention William should have lived. RIP
#InquestForWilliam
#Bessborough
#CarrsHill
Having found out my brother was buried in an unmarked mass grave of about 30,000 in 2019 it is unlikely his grave would be found but it is feasible that an inquest could be done in order to achieve truth and justice.
#burialsbill
1 year ago I received MBCOI Report. Still going back to it, re-reading parts. No conclusion to where 859 Bessboro children are buried nor any answers to why the Govt didnβt act when there was an 82% death rate. Why was there a 10% increase in deaths in 1960.
#MotherandBabyHomes
What a morning, Iβm still shaking at the decision to refuse planning on the grounds of
#Bessboro
. Today the children were listened to. We still have a way to go to get them Justice. May they RIP. William thank you for guiding me. π
Since 1994 my mother has been on a journey to find out info about herself & her baby when they spent time in
#Bessboro
#MotherAndBabyHome
. 30yrs later in 2024 she is awaiting to hear if the Coroner will grant an inquest for the death of baby William.
#Stolen
. When will this end?
How is it possible for Sr Mary McManus not to remember one child dying even though sheβs worked in
#Bessboro
#MotherAndBabyHome
since 1948 and her name appears on at least 7 entries on the Death Register.
Lastweek was
#babyloss
week.I would like to acknowledge all the mothers who lost their babies in a M&B institution&were never allowed to grieve at the time No matter how much time goes by any loss is devastating but when there is no justice it is beyond cruel
#MotherAndBabyHomes
For 26 years my mother has been consistent in telling her story, the commission added a word to her testimony that completely changes the context of her story & lets the nun off the hook. From today as the commission closes so does her opportunity to put it right.
Today the Commission dissolves & is effectively absolved of accountability. Hundreds of us made ourselves vulnerable to that Commission: in return it treated us with contempt & produced a report that is an insult to us all. Rather than
#ExtendTheCommission
govt sat on its hands.
Visiting
#Bessboro
today for Williams birthday, it still shocks me that in this special area works are carried out without a thought for where burials maybe or without an archeologist present. Where was the investigation?
@HollyCairnsTD
@rodericogorman
GATHERINGS IN CORK:
βOn Sunday there are events at 12pm, Greenmount, (industrial school) 2.30pm Good Shepherd Sundays Well (Magdalene laundry)& 3.30pm Bessboro, Blackrock, (mother &baby home) all in Cork City. Honouring the dead & the surviving victims. All welcomeβ
Baby William neednβt have died if given the proper care. We are grateful that Judge Hyland has given my mother the opportunity to be heard. Thank you
@ococonuts
&
@irishexaminer
for publishing & special thanks to
@AbbeyLawIE
for all their support & assistance.
My husband obtained his adopted sonβs Birth Cert & traced him.2 trips from Cork to Roscommon to search the registers. After they met we gave him this document. It felt right to hand it to him but so wrong that his own Birth Cert wasnβt easily available to him.
#MyRecordsMyRights
Watching
#TheMissingChildren
I wonder what chance do the 923
#Bessboro
babies have of being found, getting justice when 796 children remain in a sewage system in Tuam. I canβt express how angry I am.
Itβs 30 years ago this year that my mother enquired with the Sacred Hearts of Jesus&Mary about her baby. Imagine not knowing how/when he died. Then they blatantly lied about his burial place.1of923 children that were born in
#Bessboro
that died. Their full story hasnβt been told.
THE CHILDRENS STORY:
I have personally been visiting
#Bessboro
since 1994 since my mother was told that her baby was buried there. Later me & my mother joined the Bessboro M&BHome support group. We gained tips on how to get information & fantastic support. With a wonderful 1/8
Ground radar has revealed anomalies at Sean Ross Abbey.
#Bessborough
needs the same treatment to establish if there is a mass grave there. Hundreds & hundreds of babies that died before their 1st birthday are missing. Do we care?
@rodericogorman
#LeaveNoOneBehind
#BessboroBabies
Itβs excruciating to lose a child. Itβs beyond cruel when youβve had to fight for years to get info for that child. At
#Bessboro
there are 859 children unaccounted for. The families want the truth. If this was your family member youβd want an investigation, wouldnβt you?
#Justice
All we ever wanted was the truth, to tell the childrenβs story. There has been down right irresponsible info put out about the βChildrens Burial Groundβ at
#Bessboro
@rodericogorman
investigate at the very least if there is a mass grave at
#Bessborough
or not
May 2022 bring justice for hundreds of Bessboro children.We remember them in the area of the Folly on the grounds but they are buried here &many other places. Tell their stories,each one unique, each one a huge lost to their families & the wider community.
#BessboroBabies
Mothering Sunday wouldnβt be complete without visiting
#Bessboro
&
#CarrsHill
, the birth & burial place of my brother.
Happy Mothers Day
@MarverMail
. A mothers love never dies πΊ
It breaks my heart that my mother doesnβt feel she can accept the Govtβs sorry. She hasnβt applied, she says itβs not an apology if there are conditions attached like signing a waiver, itβs the principle. Her baby died, no one in the Commission or the govt really got her grief.
A transparently cruel redress scheme from
@rodericogorman
. It's a scandal from
@fiannafailparty
@FineGael
@greenparty_ie
govt
Hard to fathom a scheme worse than the Magdalene Laundry one but here we are and getting virtually no coverage. For shame
@martycoke
Apart from our campaign for justice for William together with
@DanielGenealogy
we are asking to
#SaveBessborough
. William was just 1 of 923 children that died, the burial place of 859 are unknown, some suspected to be buried on the grounds. Write to TDβs
This will be our 10th Anniversary gathering together to remember the Women/girls & the children that died in
#Bessboro
or later in hospital. The Government have not acted on our constant requests to investigate the grounds for burials.The loss is immeasurable. Support if you can.
In Bessboro 2day for my brothers anniversary.Talking to someone who told me whr some burials took place. In a different area again.Iβm like a broken record.We need to do theseChildren justice, investigate&tell their story.
@rodericogorman
@SenLynnRuane
@ErinMcGreehan
@EoinBearla
β¬5,000 does not give my mother the
#redress
she wanted. Money will not bring back her baby or compensate for the ordeal she went through. Acknowledging & accepting responsibility for the death of baby William would be a start.
#Justice
#MotherAndBabyHomes
Out of the 923
#Bessboro
babies William is one of the 64 children that is βaccounted forβ. Weβve been several times to the graveyard but where on this site we donβt know. He lays with approximately 30,000 other souls. My mother searching the grounds in 2019
#TheMissingChildren
@Timbre_Breda
Thatβs nice of you to say πbut I donβt think the Govt want to give answers. You think of all the processes they have made everyone engage in, only to do exactly what they want. Oak Consulting & The Redress Bill are examples of this.
A plaque foWilliam was placed in
#Bessboro
in15β after being refused by the congregation we put it there anyway. As
#Bessborough
was the last place my mother saw her baby alive it will remain there to remember him even tho we found out in 2019 that the nuns lied & heβs not there
A childβs death, you never get over it. My mother didnβt tell a soul for 36years. Her grief was compounded by the shame. It has taken her a very long time to openly speak of her experience. Donβt forget the people behind the proposed planning at
#Bessborough
. This is just 1 story
Spent day with a PhD student & after to Carrβs Hill graveyard. It made me reflect on how long me & my mum have been asking for justice. In my 30βs below at
#Bessboro
β¦60 next year. No justice for women&children buried god knows where. Govt have shown their unwillingness to engage
My mother prayed too. She prayed that her suffering would end. She prayed that her baby would get medical care. She still prays that she will find where her baby is buried....... Pope Francìs you have the power to answer prayers
#bessboro
At 18 my mother had a baby boy in a
#MotherAndBabyHome
He died & she was never given details. When she was 52 she went back to the convent looking for info. She was told he was buried on the grounds. She was refused to place a marker for him. At 77 she found out he was buried 1/5
@deshocks
In the Mother&BabyHome Collaborative Forums recommendations there is a section called reflections with a natural fathers perspective in it. This is a summary of my husbands story. We know many like him. We know couples that married& were still not permitted to keep their child.
61 years ago today my brother was born in
#Bessboro
. Born healthy but become poorly at 2/3 days. My mother
@MarverMail
begged for him to get medical help. Another 16 days went by before being sent to hospital. We only found out in 2019 that he was buried in Carrβs Hill graveyard
The narrative of the children who died needs to be told. How they lived, died are where they are buried before any building. You cannot negotiate with thisβ¦. Investigate. Every child had a grieving mother. Every child is important, unique & an Irish citizen
@rodericogorman
@ljswmc
I heard of that practice if only they recorded it for the future. I wonder if the same happened to my brother as he was 11 days in the morgue before being buried, did they wait until they had someone to put him in with!
@philipnolan1
Yes no father was ever incarcerated for getting someone pregnant but there is a great deal of men that were made invisible by the Church. This father gave his testimony to the MBHCOI via the Clann Project. He wrote this for the CollaborativeForum Report yet to be published:
My mother went into
#Bessboro
at 17yrs old,her words below. She spent a life time in grief never telling a soul about her experience until 94. If her experience is measured in money the Govt have failed her.She wants accountability/recognition frm those that dished out the abuse.
@ctcantwell
@HollyCairnsTD
My beautiful baby you were deliberately denied your precious life by cruel and calculating nuns who didnβt think your life worth saving.
Will always love you, not a day goes by that I donβt think of you
Rest softly sweet Angel.
β€οΈβοΈXXππ₯.
This is the plot owned by the Sisters of the Scared Hearts of Jesus & Mary in St Josephβs Cemetary. Julia & Annie are buried here both unmarried mothers that went to Bessboro & stayed for 60 & 62 yrs. The
#Bessboro
babies that died in the 1920βs approx 70 are also buried here RIP
It is devastating to lose a child. I have watched my mother in the deepest of despair. Time doesnβt change that especially when we know the circumstances to his death were unjust. My brother& his crib-mates deserve so much more.
#InvestigateBessboro
Keep the conversation going regarding
#Bessborobabies
If there is no burials inBessboro we need to examine the whole site.I want the truth.I know myBrothers story is quite different from the paper trail. My mother is the witness,the Sisters,the local council,the State failed them
Itβs Williams 58th birthday today. I went down to Bessboro this morning to lay flowers for him....... but is he there? There are people still alive who know what the burial procedure was...... please just tell us the truth. We need to know.
This is the reason why. Each and every one of these names deserves to be remembered and commemorated appropriately, not with apartments & creches being built on top. It's as simple as that.
[2/3]
I realised a long time ago what we were dealing with this heartless group of people. My motherβs 1st hand experience of the SHJ&M nuns is one of cruelty & arrogance. Whereβs their grace & humility? Do whatβs right.
#Redress
#MotherAndBabyHomes
The new
#Bessboro
Report shows 20th century gardening features. They were actually there just a few years ago, 21st century. Iβve been visiting Bessboro for 28yrs, I know where the vegetable beds were. We need to look underneath these areas. Letβs do a thorough archeological dig.
My mother has been waiting since September for a document withheld unless she sees her doctor first. Itβs her file, her child died 60 years ago. She feels like a 2nd class citizen. When does the abuse end?
#EqualRights
#MyRecordsMyRights