Tuam to Bessborough walk honours children of institutions

Last weekend, seven brave souls completed a three-day, 222km trek from Galway to Cork, linking two of Ireland’s most notorious mother-and-baby institutions.

The walk, entitled ‘From Tuam to Bessborough’, took place from Friday to Sunday, connecting the former Tuam mother-and-baby institution in Co Galway with the former Bessborough mother-and-baby institution in Cork.

The event was led by Anne Fahey Ronayne, of Claremorris, who, in 2023, completed 796 climbs of Knockma, a hill near Tuam, in memory of the 796 children who died at the institution.

The walkers had carried their Little Light of Love lantern on their 222km journey over three days, completing 89km on Friday, 84km on Saturday, and 49km on Sunday.

Ms Fahey Ronayne said that every six kilometres the walkers stopped to read aloud the names of 24 of the children who had died in the care of Bessborough, until all 923 were named.

Carmel Cantwell, of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group, said the walk had honoured the children of both institutions to keep their memory alive.

“We’re very thankful for all they have done,” she said.

In 2021, the Commission of Investigation in to Mother and Baby Homes found that burial records for 859 children and 19 women were missing at Bessborough, and it was “highly likely” some had been buried on the grounds.

In July, An Coimisiún Pleanála upheld planning for 106 apartments on Bessborough’s former grounds, sparking a renewed campaign by survivors. Last month, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told this newspaper he had asked Cork City Council to engage with the owners of the lands to “explore all options for the future of the site”.

Speaking at Sunday’s event, Labour Party senator Laura Harmon said the walk highlighted the calls for justice for all of the survivors of institutional abuse in Ireland, honoured the dead, and was a reminder to protect the sites. “We need to ensure that City Hall works with the developers and we get protection for Bessborough,” she said.