Bessborough survivor hopes Taoiseach will be 'true' to word in supporting council to purchase site 

A Bessborough survivor has called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to be true to his word and do the right thing by all affected by the legacy of the former mother and baby institution.

Last week Mr Martin told The Echo that he had asked Cork City Council to engage with the owners of the grounds of the former institution to “explore all options for the future of the site”.

It is understood the Government is willing to financially support Cork City Council in purchasing the Bessborough land, should negotiations with the landowners prove successful.

Survivors have called on Mr Martin to bring the 60-acre site into State ownership, and the Taoiseach said he felt a memorial park would be appropriate for the site.

“We need to do the right thing for all concerned,” he said.

Mr Martin’s intervention came after An Coimisiún Pleanála earlier this month cleared the way for the building of 106 apartments on the grounds.

Madeleine Walsh Marvier, whose son William was born in Bessborough in 1960 and died six weeks later, said she was calling on the Taoiseach to “be true to your word and do the right thing by the mothers and the children”.

Ms Marvier said the decision to uphold planning for apartments on the former institution grounds had caused “agony” for survivors.

“I don’t think they realise how much pain that caused,” she said.

Last Saturday, more than 1,000 people attended a city centre rally calling on the State to acquire the grounds for a memorial park.

“A park would be a fitting memorial, with playgrounds so that children could play, and people could go there and remember the children who never had a chance to play, and the mothers who never got over them,” she said.

Ms Marvier is one of the survivors featured in the award-winning film Testimony, which will air this evening at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.