Survivors of abuse at Cork institutions invited to engage with advocacy service

With more than 1,000 survivors of institutional abuse living in Cork city and county, a publicly-funded body is calling on those who spent time in religious-run, State-supported institutions to come forward.

There are an estimated 30,000 survivors of mother and baby institutions alive today in Ireland and across the world, with approximately 1,000 survivors of Magdalene laundries still alive.

There are about 10,000 survivors of industrial schools and reformatories alive today, with approximately two-thirds of that number living in Ireland, and the remainder living overseas.

An invitation to survivors to engage with support services has been issued by Sage Advocacy, the national advocacy service for older people and survivors of institutional abuse.

The last Magdalene laundry in Ireland, operated by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity on Sean McDermott St in Dublin, closed in 1996.

Between 1922 and 1998, about 56,000 unmarried mothers and about 57,000 children were admitted to mother and baby institutions.

MOTHER AND BABY INSTITUTION

In Cork, Bessborough operated as a mother and baby institution until 1998, with 9,768 women and 8,938 children admitted there over the years.

According to the 2009 Ryan Report, approximately 42,000 children passed through industrial schools and reformatories between the 1930s and the 1970s.

County homes were established in 1922, replacing the abolished workhouses, and ran until the 1990s. Run by the county councils, they housed mainly poor people who were chronically ill, mentally ill, elderly, children, intellectually disabled, or unmarried mothers.

At their peak, there were 30 county homes, incarcerating tens of thousands of people.

Cork had three county homes, in Clonakilty, Cork city, and Mallow.

There are currently tens of thousands of survivors of institutional abuse living across Ireland, and it is estimated that at least 1,000 live in Cork city and county.

Sage Advocacy’s service is open to all institutional survivors, free of charge and confidential. Sage acts independently of family members, service providers, and system interests, whether Church, State, or institutional.

The body is funded from public sources, chiefly the HSE and the Department of Education, with additional funding from EU programmes and the Department of Justice.

Sage Advocacy CEO Bibiana Savin said its services are available to all survivors across the country, with no age restrictions.

“If you or any of your family or friends spent time in an institution such as an industrial or reformatory school, or Magdalene laundry, or a mother and baby home, or county home — the team at Sage Advocacy is available for you,” she said. “We can help you to access supports you may be entitled to.”

For more information, email info@sageadvocacy.ie or phone 01 5367330.