Bessborough survivors want 'full scan' of the grounds in search for babies' remains

The 10th annual commemoration for the babies who died in Bessborough will take place on Sunday, June 23, at 2pm. File photo: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

Survivors of a Cork mother and baby home want the Government to order a "detailed" examination of the former religious-run institution's grounds to search for the remains of children who died there.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show 923 babies died in Bessborough from 1922 to 1998.

However, given the fact that some nuns who ran homes around the country had a practice of keeping two ledgers — listing birth and deaths — the true number of children who died has never been confirmed.

It is understood hundreds of Bessborough's babies may have been buried in Carr’s Hill, but no burial records have been located for the area.

As the 10th annual commemoration for the babies who died in Bessborough approaches, survivors say they want a review of the site to determine whether or not there are graves in the grounds.

Carmel Cantwell, whose mother gave birth to a baby boy in the home, is one of the organisers of the commemoration on June 23, and she told the Irish Examiner how survivors want the grounds scanned.

“We have repeatedly asked Roderic O’Gorman to scan the grounds in full in order to eliminate any mass grave,” she said. “We just don’t have clear answers.

“There are two live planning applications for the grounds, which are overdue on a decision on what the next steps are, and we maintain you can’t do anything on that ground without investigating the grounds for graves, that has not been done.

“The Government has done another scan in Sean Ross Abbey, but they haven’t done one in Bessborough.

Some people believe there is a mass grave there, but there is no evidence because it has not been scanned in full. We just want to be able to have an accurate picture.

“It’s a one-acre piece of ground that is the concern, that we want to have investigated".

The commemoration will take place on Sunday, June 23, at 2pm on the grounds of Bessborough and Ms Cantwell said “everyone is welcome”.

“We like the event to be informative, this year we have Mairead Enright as guest speaker. She is an academic who did an alternative executive summary of the commission’s report.

“It is a respectful gathering where adoptees come from here and abroad and we all meet up.

“Ultimately it is about those who died. My mother was in Bessborough in 1960 and the commission of investigation’s fifth interim report, shows that one baby boy, who died in December 1960 was buried in Carr’s Hill. 

"We believe that is my brother. But we have no burial records. My mother is now 82 years old, and we just want answers.” 

Meanwhile, a protest by some survivors of mother and baby homes and Industrial Schools will take place at the Dáil on Wednesday at 11am over plans to turn Sean MacDermott Street former Magdalene laundry into a research centre.