Bessborough survivor urges Micheál Martin to follow through on commitment to purchase site

Madeleine Walsh Marvier's son William was born in Bessborough in 1960 and died six weeks later

Madeleine Walsh Marvier, in 'Testimony', a feature-length documentary airing on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9.35pm on Wednesday. Picture: RTÉ

A Bessborough survivor has called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to honour his commitment and do the right thing by those affected by the legacy of the former mother and baby institution.

Mr Martin told the Irish Examiner last week he had asked Cork City Council to engage with the owners of the grounds of the former institution to “explore all options for the future of the site”.

It is understood the Government is willing to financially support Cork City Council in purchasing the Bessborough land, should negotiations with the landowners prove successful.

Survivors have called on Mr Martin to bring the 60-acre site into State ownership, and the Taoiseach said he felt a memorial park would be appropriate for the site.

“We need to do the right thing for all concerned,” he said.

Mr Martin’s intervention came after An Coimisiún Pleanála cleared the way for 106 apartments to be built on the grounds of the former mother and baby institution.

Madeleine Walsh Marvier, whose son William was born in Bessborough in 1960 and died six weeks later, said she was calling on the Taoiseach to “be true to your word and do the right thing by the mothers and the children”.

Ms Marvier said the decision to uphold planning for apartments on the former institution grounds had caused “agony” for survivors.

“I don’t think they realise how much pain that caused. I’ve barely stopped crying these past couple of weeks,” she said.

“It’s good that the Taoiseach did step in, but I wish he had done it sooner; he might have saved a lot of people so much heartbreak.

I’m overjoyed, but we can’t relax until the land is taken out of the developers’ hands.

Bessborough was run as a mother and baby institution by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary between 1922 and 1998.

It was the Ireland's largest such institution, and the last to close.

In 2021, the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes reported that 923 infants had died there. With only 64 burial records existing, the burial places of 859 children are unknown. The burial places of 19 mothers are also unknown.

The commission found it was “highly likely” some human burials occurred on Bessborough’s grounds.

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Last Saturday, more than 1,000 people attended a city centre rally calling on the State to acquire the Bessborough grounds for a memorial park.

“It was so wonderful to see the people of Cork turning out in such numbers and supporting us, it really lifted us up after what has been a really awful time for us,” Ms Marvier said.

"Can you imagine? So many children missing, and they were going to build apartments there?

“A park would be a fitting memorial, with playgrounds so that children could play, and people could go there and remember the children who never had a chance to play, and the mothers who never got over them."

Ms Marvier is one of the survivors who feature in the award-winning film Testimony, which will air at 9.35pm on Wednesday on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.