A WOMAN WHO was born in a mother and baby home in Cork where hundreds of babies died said that survivors are prepared to chain themselves to diggers to prevent the building of apartments at the site.
Over 250 people attended a vigil at the graveyard folly in Bessborough in Blackrock in Cork city this afternoon.
They gathered to mark the lives of 923 children who died while resident at Bessborough home between 1922 and 1998. Only 64 have known graves.
They also remembered the 31 women who died in the institution or in hospital having been a resident of Bessborough. The name of each woman was recited at the vigil.
Earlier this year developer Estuary View Enterprises was granted planning permission by Cork City Council to build 140 apartments at the site.
Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group and Cllr Peter Horgan of Labour lodged appeals with An Coimisuin Pleanala. A decision is due about the appeals on 9 July.
Dublin Social Democrats councillor, Noelle Browne, who was born at Bessborough, told the gathering that hundreds of lives were lost through the “neglect and cruelty” of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary nuns who ran the home for decades.
“They [babies] were discarded in unmarked graves right here. The Sisters of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Baby are not being held accountable. They are not being forced to give up records of what happened here.
“They abused their power. They practiced a particular kind of cruelty against women and children were at their most vulnerable.”
Browne said we “no longer live in a theocracy built by the Catholic Church.” She said that we have a “duty” to the children of Cork who “never got to grow up” as they were born in Bessborough.
She asked attendees to contact their public representatives and An Coimisuin Pleanala to “make their voices heard.”
“If this decision [re the appeal] goes against us on 9 July we are not done fighting. Outside the Dáil Senator Laura Harmon who is here today mentioned chaining ourselves to the diggers. I am with her on that. The fight is not one to give up. Not one to turn away from.
“Raise your voices. It is not about us. It is about the 923 infants and children who never got to live their lives simply because they were born outside of marriage.
“They are not being shown respect even in death.
“Judging by the numbers here today you are supportive. Take action. Help us achieve a CPO for investigation and excavation.”
Meanwhile, Carmel Cantwell of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group, whose brother William died at the home said that the land ought to be preserved as a “national site of conscience”.
Of the children born at Bessborough, 859 have no burial record at all, she said, with no exhaustive investigative to determine where they are buried.
“We have spoken to witnesses who saw children being buried here. The land itself holds the truth. These buildings these fields hold stories and secrets and the remains of our family members.
“This is also the place where nearly 19,000 women, girls and children passed through many of whom were subjected to harsh treatment.
She said most women were separated from their babies even when mothers were fully capable of caring for them.
“Seeking to protect the place where so many children disappeared where the majority are likely buried should not be political. It is a matter of basic humanity.”
She said that one of the most moving moments of this year was when survivors went to the gates of Bessborough in order to read the names of the dead children.
“One by one voice by voice we honoured each child. Not as a statistic. Not as a name on a report.”
Cantwell also paid tribute to Bessborough survivor Maureen Casey who died last month
“She and her daughter travelled from London every year to attend this commemoration . We miss her deeply and today we remember her and her little boy who died here in 1961.”
A minute of silence was observed at the vigil in memory all those who died at the site.
Singer Camille O’Sullivan performed at the vigil which also had contributions from a number of survivors and their families.
Teddy bears were placed on the ground near the folly which is treated like an “unofficial headstone.”
A number of Cork city councillors who are opposed to the development also attended the vigil.