‘Nothing short of sacrilege’: Decision to grant Bessborough apartments met with shock and despair by survivors   

News that An Coimisiún Pleanála had substantially upheld Cork City Council’s decision to grant planning for apartments on the grounds of the former Bessborough mother and baby institution has garnered widespread dismay.

Joy Kelly O’Regan was born in Bessborough in the 1970s and narrowly survived her time there. She said she could not comprehend what had happened.

“Words cannot express the heartbreak, disbelief, and devastation I feel. To me, this is utterly heinous. It is nothing short of sacrilege.

“Never, even in my worst nightmares, did I imagine that development would proceed over sacred land where mothers and babies are believed to rest.”

Ms Kelly O’Regan described herself as a survivor of Bessborough.

“I was born there and was without signs of life for five minutes before I was revived. I have always believed I survived for a reason. My purpose has been to stand up for those who no longer can,” she said.

“The trauma of Bessborough did not end with one generation. It lives on in survivors, our families, our children, and our grandchildren. The ripple effect is real, and it continues today.

“This sacred ground deserves dignity, respect, truth, remembrance, and justice, not development.”

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said Taoiseach Micheál Martin had last week stated that it was his view that Cork City Council should have purchased the Bessborough site before now, and the Government would decide how to respond if planning was upheld.

“That has happened now, so the Taoiseach must clarify,” she said. “Is the Government going to compulsorily purchase this site to prevent apartments being built on a mass grave?

“Or do State apologies to the survivors of mother and baby homes really mean nothing?”

Fianna Fáil city councillor Terry Shannon said it was a very disappointing decision, and he believed the initial decision to grant permission by the council’s planning department had “shown how out of touch our planners are”.

“I think this is devastating for survivors, and I think the only options now are a judicial review — which would cost whoever took it a pretty penny and would only really examine the processes undertaken — or a compulsory purchase order [CPO] on the site, but that would not be simple,” he said.

“That area is zoned for housing, so you’d be paying massive compensation to landowners. That said, I do think that would be the right thing to do, and I intend to talk with the Taoiseach.”

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, said he was “horrified and disgusted” at the decision, which he said went completely against planning precedent.

“Previous decisions by An Bord Pleanála stated that it was ‘not satisfied that the site was not previously used as, and does not contain, a children’s burial ground and that it would be premature to grant permission for the proposed development’,” he noted.

“It is an incomprehensible decision — they seem to have treated this as a normal planning decision, when we know it is anything but.”

Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, said Bessborough could not be seen as simply another development site. “It is a place forever intertwined with one of the darkest chapters in our country’s history. The pain experienced there continues to be felt by many families today, and that must always remain at the centre of how we approach its future.”

Former lord mayor of Cork, Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy, said it was clear that the national planning system lacked the capacity to deal with “the legacy of pain” relating to sites as sensitive as Bessborough.

“All of these sites, the mother and baby home and Magdalene laundry sites, need proper commemoration plans, and national special status plans,” he said.

“Ireland’s current planning system does not serve such sites at all.

“I remain of the view and have always lobbied that the land should be CPOed, but I am annoyed in recent days to hear of the passing of the buck between State and local authorities. There is absolutely no joined-up thinking and strategy for such institutional spaces.

“Those who have to live with the legacy of such institutions deserve more than just tokenism and ticking planning boxes.”

Séamus McGrath, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South Central, said that despite being his party’s housing spokesperson, he believed Bessborough was a sacred place and should be protected.

“Development should not take place and it should be preserved as a fitting memorial to those who lost their lives in appalling circumstances,” he said.

“Today’s decision is a major setback, but hopefully we can still find a way to prevent development and do the right thing.”

Patricia Carey, who was appointed by the Government as the special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse in 2024, and who was born in Bessborough, said she was shocked at what she called the commission’s “abhorrent decision”.

Noting it had been made despite two appeals, more than 160 objections, and “a huge wave of public, civic, and political support”, Ms Carey said the refusal to hold an oral hearing was “shameful”.

“It is critical that the Government intervene immediately and directly to stop this development proceeding,” she said, adding that she supported calls for a CPO of the site.

Labour Party senator Laura Harmon described the decision as “grotesque”.

“I will not give up on fighting for this; we must stand with survivors and families affected. I am calling on the Taoiseach to explore all options available and prepare a plan for the State to buy the site through compulsory purchase,” she said.

“The Taoiseach needs to step up now; the people of Cork support survivors and we all deserve to see this site protected and brought into public ownership.” 

Liam Quaide, Social Democrats TD for Cork East, sharply criticised An Coimisiún Pleanála’s statement that there was “no evidence” of unrecorded burials in the area of Bessborough in which it upheld planning permission.

“To proceed on the basis that there is ‘no evidence’ of unrecorded burials, when there has never been a comprehensive survey of the site, is utterly indefensible,” he said.

The State apologies to survivors of mother and baby homes mean very little if government allows apartments to be built on land where children’s remains still lie.

“Building these apartments would be an act of profound desecration of the memory of the children who died in such appalling circumstances.

“The Government must now act. The Taoiseach must clarify whether the State will compulsorily purchase this site and protect it from development.”

In a statement, the survivors’ group Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance (CSSA), which is considerably smaller than the Bessborough Mother and Baby Support Group (BMAMSG), welcomed the decision. While BMAMSG opposes any further development of the former Bessborough site, CSSA does not.

CSSA said that because the Estuary View development would not involve building on a one-acre site it believes to be a children’s burial ground, “we look forward to the changes it will bring”.

CSSA repeated its call for the compulsory purchase for memorialisation of that site, which is close to the Bessborough folly, and is identified on a 1950s Ordnance Survey map as a children’s burial site.

In a statement, Justice for Magdalenes Research and the Clann Project said its members were “horrified” at the planning decision, which they said was made, even though 19 mothers and 859 infants associated with Bessborough remain missing.

“Their burial places are not known and the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation concluded: ‘it is highly likely that burials did take place in the grounds of Bessborough’.

“We call on the Government immediately to CPO the site, as requested in a unanimous motion of Cork city councillors.” A spokesperson said Cork City Council would not be commenting, while a spokesperson for Estuary View Enterprises said it noted the decision.