Government willing to support State purchase of Cork's Bessborough site, says Taoiseach

The Taoiseach said the historically significant site should be treated with respect and all future options carefully considered

Painted remembrance stones and child toys at the 'folly' on the grounds of the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Home institution. Picture: Larry Cummins

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has asked Cork City Council to engage with the owners of the grounds of the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Institution to "explore all options for the future of the site".

It is understood the Government is willing to support Cork City Council financially to purchase 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 believed a memorial park would be an appropriate future use for the site.

Mr Martin told the Irish Examiner that the site was of immense importance to many survivors and that this needed to be respected.

“Bessborough is an area of important historical significance and it’s a place of huge importance and connection for many, many families and people,” he said.

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

Mr Martin's intervention comes after Cork city councillors this week called on the State to acquire the Bessborough grounds.

Nine of the Taoiseach's 10 Cork Oireachtas colleagues wrote to Mr Martin this week urging him to intervene, while the 10th, Fine Gael junior minister Jerry Buttimer, said he fully supported survivors and their families.

Last week, An Coimisiún Pleanála substantially upheld planning permission granted by Cork City Council in February, clearing the way for the construction of 106 apartments on the site of the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Institution.

The decision, which was made despite concerns that hundreds of missing children may be buried on the land, caused significant distress among the wider survivor community in Cork.

Political reaction

Tánaiste Simon Harris said he had been deep uneasy about the proposed development on the grounds of Bessborough.

“News today of the planned engagement between Cork City Council and the developers is very welcome. I truly hope it results in the right outcome for all concerned,” Mr Harris said.

Tuam historian Catherine Corless, who had first visited Bessborough in 2018, said she was “absolutely delighted for the survivors”.

“They really dug in their heels and wouldn’t take no for an answer, and I’m so glad that the Government is doing the right thing now,” she said.

“I would hope that in time we can have a full examination of the site and find the babies.” 

Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, who organised the letter signed by Cork Oireachtas members this week, said on Friday it was positive news that Mr Martin was now open to engagement.

“I hope that this will mean, and time will tell, that there won’t be development on this site, which would be profoundly wrong,” he said.

“I hope that the Taoiseach will keep the public, and particularly survivors, updated, because survivors and their relatives need to be at the centre of whatever happens next.” 

The Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Damian Boylan, said Cork City Council was committed to ensuring that any future discussions reflect the significance of Bessborough.

“The city council will now engage with the relevant stakeholders to explore all options for the site in a considered, sensitive and respectful manner,” he said.

Carmel Cantwell of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Group said survivors had been “gobsmacked” by the news, but she said there was a guarded optimism tempered by scepticism among the community.

“Nothing is over the line yet, but we’re in a better place than we were,” she said.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns offered a cautious welcome to Mr Martin’s intervention, and said there were other things he could do.

"He could unseal all records about burials from the Mother and Baby Homes Commission and request that the Attorney General order an inquest into the deaths of the hundreds of women and children who died there,” she said.

“These women and children were failed by the State in life. We must not fail them in death.”

Labour Party Laura Harmon said the entire site must be declared a public memorial.

“Survivors have been let down before so many times and we will continue to campaign until we have certainty that the site will be protected," she said.

Bessborough institution

The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary ran Bessborough as a mother and baby institution from 1922 until 1998. It was the largest such institution in Ireland and the last to close.

The nuns informed the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation that 923 infants died in their care. They retained burial records for only 64 children, meaning the final resting places of 859 children are unknown. The burial records of 19 women are also missing.

In 2021, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation found it was "highly likely" that some of the missing children were buried on the institution's grounds.