Survivors devastated by council's permission for 140 apartments at Bessborough

Between 1922 and 1998, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary ran Bessborough as a mother and baby institution, during which time 9,768 mothers and 8,938 babies were admitted

The graveyard at the Bessborough Centre in Blackrock, Cork. Picture: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie

Survivors say they are "devastated" Cork City Council has granted planning permission for 140 apartments on the site of the former Bessborough mother and baby institution.

The council granted permission to Estuary View Enterprises 2020 despite several previous planning refusals and concerns that the site may contain the unmarked graves of hundreds of children.