Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #motherandbabyhomes
Most recents (19)
I/4 I wake every morning with the fear that we will never get Justice for all who suffered in #MotherAndBabyHomes; those who survived and those we lost during the years of operation and in the interim. Apologies don’t cut it; words on a page are meaningless if unaccompanied
by action; action that can bring closure. We cannot turn the clock back to right the injustice of the time; but we can acknowledge it today. The apology is null and void when redress amounts to days spent in institution; it ignores the lifelong inter generational trauma of 2/4
forced family separation; the experiences cited by survivors who endured discrimination and a catalogue of abuses; recognition of unpaid work by one category of mothers but not others. The lost children - 9,000 in 18 institutions- what about the others? We deserve better 3/4
1/4 Letter from the Irish Government to the Catholic Church 29/2/1948
“On the assumption of office and our first Cabinet meeting, my colleagues and myself desire to repose at the feet of your Holiness the assurance of our filial loyalty and devotion as well as of our firm resolve
“On the assumption of office and our first Cabinet meeting, my colleagues and myself desire to repose at the feet of your Holiness the assurance of our filial loyalty and devotion as well as of our firm resolve
“ to be guided in all our work by the teaching of Christ and to strive for the attainment of a social order in Ireland based on Christian principles”
Signed: John A Costello
Prime Minister
2/4
Signed: John A Costello
Prime Minister
2/4
The response:
Pope Pius’ response to Costello message in Documents of Irish Foreign Policy dated 05/03/1948 ⬇️. 3/4
Pope Pius’ response to Costello message in Documents of Irish Foreign Policy dated 05/03/1948 ⬇️. 3/4
1/5 Blog post by lawyer @AHorowitzLaw entitled “Why we Still need to sue Catholic Institutions” which is relevant at this time given discussions yesterday in @OireachtasNews where @SocDems leader @HollyCairnsTD asked Minister @rodericogorman for update on discussions with RCC
with regard to financial compensation to victims and survivors of #motherandbabyhomes
Recently we saw the President of the Law Society Justice Clarke recommend changes to end the ongoing blockage experienced by survivors who attempt to get justice. 2/5
Recently we saw the President of the Law Society Justice Clarke recommend changes to end the ongoing blockage experienced by survivors who attempt to get justice. 2/5
The Christian Brothers in Ireland use a legal technicality to block someone suing them. They refuse to name a Leader or person to represent the Order as a defendant and with no name, proceedings can not go ahead, Justice Clarke stated “The fact that you might be able to 3/5
1/8 Yesterday #UniversityOfLimerick bestowed honorary doctorates on 4 inspirational individuals. One recipient, Ms Terry Prone received the award “Honorary Doctor of Letters”. Some of you will recall this piece received by Saskia Weber who made enquiries about #TuamBabies in 2014
At the outset Ms. Prone remarked “when the O My God, mass grave in West of Ireland broke in an English-owned paper (The Mail) it surprised the hell out of everybody, not least the Sisters of Bon Secours in Ireland, none of whom had ever worked in Tuam and most of whom had” 2/8
never heard of it” If you come here you’ll find no mass grave,” etc etc The citation for her award by UL President states “politics can be a difficult business, often laden with spin, but Terry Prone has always brought a deep sense of integrity to her work. 3/8
I'm am giving (and continue) to give my all into @Project_Infant to turn it into a beacon for people wanting to:
a) learn more about the homes and their backstory
b) learn more about those who died
But recently I've felt vexed. Which is why I'm adding another small thing to NLB.
a) learn more about the homes and their backstory
b) learn more about those who died
But recently I've felt vexed. Which is why I'm adding another small thing to NLB.
For those who aren't adopted, we are lucky as we can easily trace our family back to goodness knows when, you have to admit that.
But I want to use my skills to help those adopted through mother and baby homes, I want to help them trace their birth families.
But I want to use my skills to help those adopted through mother and baby homes, I want to help them trace their birth families.
So, if you were born in a mother and baby home and would like help finding your birth ancestral roots, I'd love to help. I don't charge whatsoever for this research. This is my way of giving back and helping survivors find who their ancestors are.
Thread:
The UN Human Rights Committee has made a number of significant recommendations on how Ireland should respond to human rights violations experienced by people who passed through #MotherAndBabyHomes and related institutions...
The UN Human Rights Committee has made a number of significant recommendations on how Ireland should respond to human rights violations experienced by people who passed through #MotherAndBabyHomes and related institutions...
According to the Committee, the Irish State should: (a) Ensure the full recognition of the violation of human rights of all victims in these institutions, and establish a transitional justice mechanism to fight impunity and guarantee the right to truth for all victims...
(b) Intensify efforts to increase complaint mechanisms & investigate all allegations of abuses thoroughly taking a survivor-centred approach, prosecute suspected perpetrators where appropriate and, if convicted, punish them w/ penalties commensurate with the gravity of offence...
🧵A thread about adoption abortion and maternity care and the sisters of charity 🧵
1/ The adoption board was formed after adoption became legal in 1953 Tom Woulfe was the first registrar of the new Adoption Board in 1953 an appointee of McQuaid.
1/ The adoption board was formed after adoption became legal in 1953 Tom Woulfe was the first registrar of the new Adoption Board in 1953 an appointee of McQuaid.
2/Archbishop McQuaid scrutinised every line of the 1952 adoption act a result of which meant a restriction on children of mixed religious denomination from being adopted and restrictions where a mother recently changed her religion.
3/Adopted mothers had to give up work and had to prove they were not using contraceptives and that they were unable to have children themselves
#InternationalWomensDay2022
I've a number of tributes to pay on this important day.
The first must obviously go to the women of #Ukraine
This picture demonstrates their suffering & their personal courage
I stand with them in #Solidarity
Photo from the front page @thetimes
I've a number of tributes to pay on this important day.
The first must obviously go to the women of #Ukraine
This picture demonstrates their suffering & their personal courage
I stand with them in #Solidarity
Photo from the front page @thetimes
#InternationalWomensDay2022
It's a strange start to this tribute, but today is the 21st anniversary of my Dad's death. His life and of his Mother, Mary Breheny, is couched in real courage through #MotherAndBabyHomes #MagdalenLaundries
#Justice is coming!
It's a strange start to this tribute, but today is the 21st anniversary of my Dad's death. His life and of his Mother, Mary Breheny, is couched in real courage through #MotherAndBabyHomes #MagdalenLaundries
#Justice is coming!
#InternationalWomensDay2022
I pay tribute to #BreedaMurphy from the #TuamMotherandBabyHomeAlliance
Her passion, compassion and determination against @cnalive @merrionstreet to deliver the stories & change of #Survivors #MotherAndBabyHomes & #Magdalene story is inspirational
I pay tribute to #BreedaMurphy from the #TuamMotherandBabyHomeAlliance
Her passion, compassion and determination against @cnalive @merrionstreet to deliver the stories & change of #Survivors #MotherAndBabyHomes & #Magdalene story is inspirational
1/ I’ve never, ever shown this photo but for the day that’s in it, the story needs to be told. Sit back and strap in. #MotherAndBabyHomes
2/ My late mum, Josie, was the last of four children born non-maritally in Wexford in 1933. Adoption didn’t exist then and her two older brothers were raised in-family, because they were boys and useful. A sister born before her died age 4 in the county home.
3/ Josie was packed off to St Dominic’s in Waterford where she spent roughly 4 years getting an “education.” She fondly remembered day trips to Tramore and only ever referred to this time as “when I was in school in Ireland.”
We’re off: #ECRday2021 is a go! I’d like to thank @QUBelfast & @UKRI_News for the financial support today. I’m hugely grateful to @SophcoCooper's technical support & @QUBPostdoc for wisdom + advice! The programme for today is here: alisongarden.com/ecrday2021-aca… 🧵 of the day below...
Thanks to @SophcoCooper for the tech assistance today! As well as being a whizz with tech, she's a scholar of the Irish diaspora. She writes on migration, gender, religion and space. See more here: sophiecooperhistory.wordpress.com She also runs: irishdiasporahistory.wordpress.com #IrishStudies
Our first panel of #ECRday2021 is on ‘Postdoctoral Fellowships on Projects’. We’ll hear from @comyn_scomyn & @AMFoster_ about the challenges, processes and joys of working on group projects as a #postdoc in the arts, humanities & social sciences. #ECRchat #PhDchat #Academia
Three months of scandals...
(part 1 )
❎Teachers from fee paying school get COVID jab from private hospital
❎Almost 50 children with autism affected by secret dossiers
❎Varadkar had hard copy of GP pay deal waiting for him as he stepped off government jet
#HowIrelandWorks
(part 1 )
❎Teachers from fee paying school get COVID jab from private hospital
❎Almost 50 children with autism affected by secret dossiers
❎Varadkar had hard copy of GP pay deal waiting for him as he stepped off government jet
#HowIrelandWorks
❎Stardust inquest into the death of 48 people at a nightclub has been further delayed
❎Central Mental Hospital management allege gardaí assaulted three staff.
❎A festival management company that imported €10m worth of Chinese ventilators for the HSE
#HowIrelandWorks
❎Central Mental Hospital management allege gardaí assaulted three staff.
❎A festival management company that imported €10m worth of Chinese ventilators for the HSE
#HowIrelandWorks
❎More than €192m worth of State contracts were awarded without tendering in a 12-month period
❎Judge investigates 'unusual share trading' in Siteserv sale overseen by Davy
❎Ireland on track to miss taoiseach’s Covid-19 vaccination target for first quarter by over a third
❎Judge investigates 'unusual share trading' in Siteserv sale overseen by Davy
❎Ireland on track to miss taoiseach’s Covid-19 vaccination target for first quarter by over a third
Thread.
I didn't want to have to tweet but needs must.
I was recently contacted about Syrian (resettlement programme) refugees in Co Longford. Welcomed by community BUT their housing situation is dire incl case of "pregnant woman sleeping in a car with engine on to keep warm"👇
I didn't want to have to tweet but needs must.
I was recently contacted about Syrian (resettlement programme) refugees in Co Longford. Welcomed by community BUT their housing situation is dire incl case of "pregnant woman sleeping in a car with engine on to keep warm"👇
Above case occurred during recent freezing weather. It is now freezing again. Another example of substandard accom incl child experiencing electrical currents from wall due to faulty wiring. All of this was reported by families & their friends but to NO avail (over long period)👇
Those involved are exasperated. Hard to keep fighting against institutional inertia, which we see time & time again in Ireland. Complete lack of responsibility, accountability, compassion. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. So.. I looked into the situation & decided to advocate as best I could.👇
In just over a month, I've witnessed two distressing moments in Irish culture, the airing of The Hunger on @RTEOne & the release of the #motherandbabyhomes report. Two gross wounds; one inflicted, the other self inflicted.
Thread.
Thread.
#TheHunger was harrowing; heartbreaking. I was incredibly moved by it, forced to imagine with much more clarity the struggle my Gr Gr Grandad went through as a child-what he must've seen, smelled, feared, felt. The sadness that must have permeated his life. It's near impossible
to reconcile the great imprint it's made on the story of every person on this island & on the story of those who had to leave. I feel slightly unique in being someone who, in a way, returned from that scar-an immigrant returned from an emigrant departed.
sean-callahan.medium.com/the-ghost-of-m…
sean-callahan.medium.com/the-ghost-of-m…
THREAD #motherandbabyhomesreport is an example of classic whitewash.
the techniques are widely known; narrow the scope & limit the enquiry. Used to great effect in Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday & Grenfell. So what appears to be an open, honest, legal, proper & well-meaning
the techniques are widely known; narrow the scope & limit the enquiry. Used to great effect in Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday & Grenfell. So what appears to be an open, honest, legal, proper & well-meaning
effort is in fact a smokescreen for a concerted effort to above all else, protect the institutions involved. Our former Minister for Children, Catherine Zappone, it would appear, tried valiantly to do this properly. She oversaw the Tuam Babies excavation which confirmed that tiny
human remains were buried underground in a mass unmarked grave. She spoke of how difficult the process would be, politically, legally & technically to exhume all the bodies. She asked the pope during his visit if the religious orders would pay reparations. It would appear she did
Thread: Here’s a neutral overview of todays Mother & Baby Homes Commission of Investigation (2020). It’s an exam of the exec summary only. I have sought to highlight historical inaccuracies relating to social history & shocking infant mortality levels. #motherandbabyhomes
The exec summary notes that the harsh environment of Ireland was ‘supported by, contributed to & condoned by’ the State & RCC. This is to elide that the State was a de facto theocracy & the Church the arbiter of social behaviour & the creator of the ‘harsh environment’
Some 81,000 women were immured in ‘homes’ with at least 57,000 children. This is reported as the highest per capita intake of unmarried mothers in the world. Individuals from as young as 12 were detained & some 11%+ were underage.
1/ A comprehensive analysis of the Commission Report will not happen this week.
It will take a considerable amount of time for us to attempt to access the Commission's sources (where possible that is) & carefully examine their conclusions.
It will take a considerable amount of time for us to attempt to access the Commission's sources (where possible that is) & carefully examine their conclusions.
2/ At first glance however, I'm afraid the signs are not good. E.g.:
The contention that adoption in Ireland was not forced.
The idea that women were somehow mistaken that they didn't fully consent at the time of the adoption.
The contention that adoption in Ireland was not forced.
The idea that women were somehow mistaken that they didn't fully consent at the time of the adoption.
3/ The recommendation on access to birth certificates is simply appalling. A similar model was robustly rejected by adopted people in 2019. (For more on adoption information access see: adoption.ie/wp-content/upl…)
Thread: Thinking of the survivors & families of clerical abuse. That abuse was facilitated by the state. Ireland was a de facto theocracy. The Roman Catholic hierarchy set themselves up as moral guardians & must now* & then be held accountable for their evil #MotherandBabyHomes
Any attempt by the hierarchy or its immoral propagandists to blame the state is denying the control of the Church over politicians, the media & the people. The media has a responsibility to grow a spine & challenge this revision of history & apologise for their own role.
*It’s clear immorality is still a significant part of hierarchical behaviour. This includes that they allow a pseudo-institute represent their mendaciousness 24/7 & their ongoing & non-Christian homophobia.
#Stand4Truth #UnsealTheArchives #MotherAndBabyHomes
We have been asked by a survivor who wishes to maintain her confidentiality to:
'Please convey to the Senator @barrymward, publicly, that nobody is "leading anybody up any garden path", that we are highly intelligent persons,
We have been asked by a survivor who wishes to maintain her confidentiality to:
'Please convey to the Senator @barrymward, publicly, that nobody is "leading anybody up any garden path", that we are highly intelligent persons,
(Quote cont'd)
some of us academics, who have taught for many years at university level, and we are more than capable of understanding our rights, and the abuse of our rights, and we also recognise when Irish patronising men dare to insult us along with the female lawyers who
some of us academics, who have taught for many years at university level, and we are more than capable of understanding our rights, and the abuse of our rights, and we also recognise when Irish patronising men dare to insult us along with the female lawyers who
(Quote cont'd)
represent us, given that a criminal, patriarchal Ireland sought to destroy our lives by committing horrendous crimes against us.
The Senator owes to us women survivors, mothers who were constrained by the Irish State to give away our children, an apology,
represent us, given that a criminal, patriarchal Ireland sought to destroy our lives by committing horrendous crimes against us.
The Senator owes to us women survivors, mothers who were constrained by the Irish State to give away our children, an apology,
Crocheting in style at @theshelbourne, #crochet
I've joined two squares of Irish crochet for "Stitched With Love" who are making a commemorative blanket of white squares to remember the 796 babies who died in Tuam mother & baby home. @5lampsartsfest #TuamBabies @PaulOMahony #796
I've joined two squares of Irish crochet for "Stitched With Love" who are making a commemorative blanket of white squares to remember the 796 babies who died in Tuam mother & baby home. @5lampsartsfest #TuamBabies @PaulOMahony #796
