Survivor calls for inquests into Sean Ross Abbey baby deaths 

Maureen Sullivan said: 'I am calling on the Government to find these children, and to give them an individual inquest'

Maureen Sullivan in the 2022 documentary, 'Ireland's Dirty Laundry'. On Saturday, Ms Sullivan launched her autobiography, 'Girl In The Tunnel'. Picture: RTÉ

A campaigner on institutional abuse has called on the Government to locate the bodies of babies who died in the Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby institution, and to carry out inquests to determine how they died.

At the age of 12, Maureen Sullivan was one of the youngest children ever to be incarcerated in a Magdalene laundry. A victim of child sexual abuse, she was locked up in the laundry in New Ross in Co Wexford before being transferred to another laundry in Athy, Co Kildare, and then to the school for the blind in Dublin.

Her autobiography,  Girl in the Tunnel, was launched near the former Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby home in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on Saturday.

She was recently involved in unveiling the Journey Stone at the Little Museum of Dublin on St Stephen’s Green, where women who were incarcerated in Magdalene institutions are commemorated.

Heart failure and marasmus were listed as common causes of children's deaths at Sean Ross Abbey. 

Now she says, the focus must turn to the babies who died in mother and baby institutions.

The 70-year-old from Carlow said she chose the location to launch her book because of the large number of babies who died there, “that we hear very little about”.

Ms Sullivan told the Irish Examiner: “There’s over a thousand children’s deaths in Sean Ross. These children have to be found and inquests have to take place”.

She continued “I wanted to come here for that reason.

I know Philomena Lee’s story brought a lot attention onto the mother and baby homes, but we have to talk about the missing children.

“I am calling on the Government to find these children, and to give them an individual inquest”.

Sean Ross Abbey was run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, from 1931 to 1969 when the home closed.

During those years, 6,414 women entered the home while 6,079 babies are registered as being born there.

The Oscar-nominated film Philomena told the story of Philomena Lee who gave birth to her first child Anthony at the home before he was taken from her and adopted to America.

The same religious order oversaw Bessborough mother and baby home in Cork and Castlepollard in Co Westmeath.

Anna Corrigan whose mother and two brothers were in Tuam mother and baby home, taking part in a protest outside Leinster House in 2021. File picture: PA

Overall, 9,000 children died in 18 mother and baby homes in Ireland, however Sean Ross Abbey had one of the highest death figures recorded.

Freedom of Information records shows 1,024 children referred to by the nuns as “illegitimate” died in Sean Ross while it was in operation.

Heart failure and marasmus were listed as common causes of death, while one child is recorded as dying after choking on porridge.

There are two sets of death registrations for Sean Ross Abbey — one which is the official record and accounts for 1,024 children’s deaths.

However, the Commission of Inquiry into mother and baby homes which was set up in 2015, found there was a second ledger of deaths for around 66 children in the Roscrea-based former institution.

This has raised concerns among campaigners and families of children who died in the homes.

Anna Corrigan had two brothers who died in the Tuam mother and baby home. One boy has a death cert, while the other is marked in the nuns’ ledgers as having died, but has no death cert.

She believes the 66 children whose deaths were not recorded on the official register merits further investigation, and that they may have been trafficked. 

Maureen Sullivan and Marina Gambold of Magdalene Survivors Together at Leinster House in 2013 where they were seeking a State apology for their treatment. File picture: Niall Carson/PA

Anna told the Irish Examiner: “Why weren’t those 66 children recorded on the official register? This is why there has always been concern over the falsification of death certs to allow for child trafficking which the Commission said there was no evidence of, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen in my opinion”.

The Commission found just 42 infant burials on the grounds for Sean Ross Abbey following scans of the site in 2019.

Last week, Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman announced the appointment of Daniel MacSweeney as director to oversee the excavation and recovery of children’s remains at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam.

Several survivors have called for more scans of the site since then, given that not all of the remains of the children have been located.

Maureen Sullivan continued “This is a very big area, was enough done to find the children?”.