People to gather at Cork former mother baby home to remember the hundreds of children who died there

This Sunday, a group of survivors, advocates, and public representatives will gather at the gates of the former Bessborough mother and baby home to read aloud the names of the children known to have died there.

Organisers said the gathering is in response to the decision at the end of February by Cork City Council to grant planning permission for 140 apartments on the site.

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary opened its convent in Bessborough House in 1922 and closed it in 1998. Between those dates, 9,768 mothers and 8,938 babies were admitted.

According to data released six years ago by the General Registry Office, death certificates were issued for 816 children who died at Bessborough or after being discharged from the institution.

Final report

However, in 2021, the final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission stated that the commission was aware of 923 child deaths related to Bessborough, 107 more than had been disclosed to the GRO.

Burial records exist for only 64 of those 923 children, and the commission concluded it was “highly likely” that some of those missing remains were buried on the grounds of the former Bessborough convent.

Noelle Browne, a Social Democrats member of Dublin City Council, was born in Bessborough.

Shockwaves

She told The Echo that the decision by Cork City Council to grant planning permission on what is seen by many as a site of conscience had caused shockwaves in the survivor community, and this weekend’s reading is planned as a dignified protest.

“The children and infants were denied respectful burials, and their mothers were denied the right to grieve.

“A public reading is the least we can do so they will not be remembered as mere statistics.” 

The reading of the names of the 923 infants and children known to have died at Bessborough or after discharge from there will be held at the main gates of the former mother and baby institution at 1pm on Sunday, April 26.