Thread by @cmcgettrick

A thread with information and resources for anyone who is new to #UnsealTheArchive (also tagging in #Stand4Truth for people following that)

I thought it might be helpful to put together a thread with some basic information to give an idea of who we all are & what we do. 1/

To the survivors, adopted people, natural mothers, natural family members becoming politicised for the first time - welcome! Peer support is available here: facebook.com/groups/adoptio…

To the allies, welcome also and thank you for your support! 2/

We in @adoptionrights @maglaundries have been doing this work over the past 2 decades & at times it has been a lonely road for everyone concerned, so it is simply wonderful to see so many of you putting your shoulder to the wheel with us! 3/

Information & resources:

1) for a glossary of terms, see pg 12 of the @clann_project report: clannproject.org/wp-content/upl…

This includes an explanation of the difference between Magdalene Laundries & Mother and Baby Homes. 4/

2) Who are the people affected by #UnsealTheArchive ?

This issue affects many different cohorts of survivors & stakeholders, including:

Industrial school survivors, many of whom were born in Mother & Baby Homes. See also: jfmresearch.com/retention-of-r… 5/

Magdalene Laundry survivors, many of whom were also born in Mother & Baby Homes. See also @maeveorourke tweet below 6/

https://twitter.com/maeveorourke/status/1320361986782363648?s=20

County Home survivors. NB the Commission only investigated a sample of 4 county homes: irishexaminer.com/news/arid-2040… 7/

Adopted people, who were born/confined in various State & private institutions including Mother & Baby Homes, private nursing homes, public & private hospitals.

FYI, inspired by @BastardsUnite some of us have reclaimed the term 'bastard'. See: bastards.org/faq/ 8/

Natural mothers who gave birth in various State & private institutions including Mother & Baby Homes, private nursing homes, public hospitals, private hospitals. Some natural mothers were subsequently confined in Magdalene Laundries. 9/

Natural fathers & family members, many of whom, along with natural mothers are urgently seeking the whereabouts of their relatives who they have lost through deaths in institutions, forced family separation or other means. 10/

Apologies if I've left other stakeholders out of the above - feel free to contact me if I have done so & I will add to the thread.

Next up, what is the Mother & Baby Homes Commission of Investigation all about? For info see our FAQs here: clannproject.org/faqs/faqs-on-t… 11/

What is the @clann_project all about? It's a joint initiative of @adoptionrights @maglaundries @HLCitizenship led by @maeveorourke & me. HL solicitors provided pro bono assistance to people who wished to give evidence to the Commission. For more see: clannproject.org/about/ 12/

The @clann_project operated under strict ethical protocols: clannproject.org/wp-content/upl… & spoke to over 164 witnesses & submitted over 80 statements to the Commission of Investigation, along with a 150-page public report: clannproject.org/clann-report/ 13/

What resources are available?

If you were in an Industrial School & would like to obtain your records see: mydatarights.ie

If you're adopted & would like to obtain your birth cert & (unfortunately redacted) records see: adoption.ie/records/ 14/

If you were in a Magdalene Laundry & you would like to:

Obtain your records: jfmresearch.com/wp-content/upl… (not yet updated in line with GDPR - we'll get to it soon!).

Apply to the ex gratia scheme: jfmresearch.com/wp-content/upl… & jfmresearch.com/wp-content/upl… 15/

If you are a family of a deceased Magdalene woman & would like to research what became of your relative see: jfmresearch.com/wp-content/upl… 16/

We're currently updating our guide for natural mothers, but in the meantime if you would like to obtain your records, you can use our subject access request template here: adoption.ie/wp-content/upl… 17/

As I said above, if you're looking for peer support, our private Facebook group is at the following link: facebook.com/groups/adoptio…

The group is confidential & membership is vetted to ensure that only those with a genuine connection to Irish adoption are granted access. 18/

If you're looking for educational resources, firstly read the @clann_project Report, which covers the #UnsealTheArchive issue: clannproject.org/clann-report/

(In the next week or so we'll begin putting up anonymised statements from Clann witnesses, so watch this space.) 19/

See also the recent special double issue of Eire-Ireland muse.jhu.edu/issue/42823 & the following page on the @maglaundries site (mostly focused on the laundries): jfmresearch.com/educational-re… 20/

Visit the Magdalene Oral History Project (led by @Ka_ODonnell) to read the oral histories of Magdalene survivors & other participants: jfmresearch.com/home/oralhisto… 21/

Soon we will be providing guidance on how to apply to the Minister for your personal records, once the archive is with him & how to complain to the Data Protection Commissioner if necessary. 22/

That's about it for now - if I think of other useful info, I'll add it here. Thanks again for the support everyone!

#UnsealTheArchive #Stand4Truth

23/23

I knew I’d forget something: I left out adopted people who were unaccompanied in institutions such as Temple Hill in Blackrock & St Clare’s in Stamullen. (A daft omission considering I was in Temple Hill myself!)

https://twitter.com/cmcgettrick/status/1320736265218756610

Addendum: some adopted people identify as survivors, others don’t (myself included). (This is usually a personal preference & doesn’t imply that human rights violations did not occur.) Hence, we sometimes say ‘survivors & adopted ppl/natural family’ or ’survivors & stakeholders’.

https://twitter.com/cmcgettrick/status/1320736265218756610

Another addendum: FYI, adoption transcended class, though NB, girls & women of lower socioeconomic status were more likely to be incarcerated. Many natural mothers had careers & despite this it was impossible for them to raise their babies - there was simply no other choice.

https://twitter.com/cmcgettrick/status/1320736267143913472