State archives may hold key to mother and baby homes

According to records held in the archives of the Kerry County Library, in December 1929 the Department of Local Government and Public Health (DLGPH) issued a circular to all Irish local authorities requesting information on "unmarried mothers" in county homes.

They also asked what steps were taken to transfer them into specialised mother-and-baby homes such as Tuam in Galway; Bessborough in Cork city, Kilrush in County Clare (closed in early 1930s); and Pelletstown in Dublin — (other homes including Sean Ross in Roscrea and Manor House in Castlepollard had yet to be opened).

Local authorities were informed that six-monthly returns of women in county homes had to be submitted to the department as it was important for the ‘minister’ – the leading pro-Treatyite and future Fine Gael leader Richard Mulcahy – to be kept informed of the extent of the problem.