Names of Bessborough children read aloud as campaigners vow to fight on against development plan

Of 923 children, burial records exist for only 64, meaning the final resting place of 859 children is unknown

Families against development at Bessborough met at the site on Sunday to highlight their objections to proposed developments. Almost 900 names of Bessborough children were read aloud. Picture: Noel Sweeney

The minute’s silence outside the gates of Bessborough was broken only by birdsong and the shrieks and shouts of children playing in nearby housing estates.

A reading aloud of almost 900 of the names of children who died there or after discharge from the former mother and baby institution in Cork had taken a full 50 minutes.