Order that ran Bessborough says it ‘tried to respond to need’

The graveyard at the former Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork. The graveyard was used by the Sacred Heart Nuns, who bought the House in 1922, to bury their sisters. It also houses the 'Little Angels' memorial plot to remember 'babies who died before or shortly after birth'. File picture: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

The religious congregation that ran the Bessborough mother and baby home where more than 900 babies died has said it “did not contribute to the toxic agenda in Ireland at the time, but tried to respond to need”, new records have revealed.

The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary oversaw the running of the Cork home from 1922 to 1998 and admitted nearly 10,000 women and 8,900 children during its operation.