Online petition opposing building of apartments at Bessborough reaches 16,000 signatures

Survivors are seeking State and council intervention to protect the remaining grounds amid plans for 106 apartments

More than 1,200 people gathered in Cork in July to protest against the planned development of part of the former Bessborough mother and baby home site, where 923 children are known to have died. Picture: Chani Anderson

More than 16,000 people have now signed an online petition opposing the development of the grounds of a former Cork mother and baby institution.

Established in March, the ‘Save Bessboro’ petition calls on Cork City Council and the Government to purchase the remaining undeveloped 60-acre grounds of the former Bessborough mother and baby institution in Ballinure.

The number of signatures to the petition this week passed 16,000.

Joy Kelly O’Regan, who was born in Bessborough in the 1970s, is the driving force behind the petition.

She said public awareness of the mother and baby institution has increased dramatically since July, when An Coimisiún Pleanála upheld planning permission for the building of 106 apartments on the grounds.

“I wear my Bessborough tee-shirt everywhere to try and raise awareness, but now when I’m in the shopping centre, people approach me because of it and tell me how much they support us,” she said.

"The petition is part of that, and I can’t thank people enough for their support of the babies, the children, the mothers of Bessborough, because we would be absolutely nowhere without that support."

Between 1922 and 1998, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary ran Bessborough as the largest mother and baby institution in the country, and it was the last to close.

During its 76-year history, a total of 9,768 mothers and 8,938 children were admitted to Bessborough. Records show 31 maternal deaths were associated with the mother and baby institution, while 923 children were reported to have died in its care.

In 2021, the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes found burial records for 859 children and 19 women were missing from Bessborough.

The commission found it was “highly likely” some of dead had been buried on the grounds of the estate, which was then 210 acres.

The granting of planning permission to Estuary View Enterprises 2020 in February of this year, and ACP’s subsequent substantial upholding of that decision, sent shockwaves through the survivor community.

Estuary View Enterprises owns 43.4 acres at Bessborough, which it bought from the Sacred Heart nuns for €6.85m. A further 3.7 acres was bought by property developers MWB Two in 2018 for an undisclosed sum.

In mid-July, more than 1,200 people braved sweltering city centre temperatures to protest against the planned development, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin called on Cork City Council to engage with the owners of the lands to “explore all options for the future of the site”.

This week, Mr Martin — who has said he feels the Bessborough land should become a memorial park — confirmed independent mediators had been appointed to conduct discussions between the council and the landowners.

It is understood the State would support a council purchase of the land, should negotiations with the landowners prove successful.

Later this month, the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group and some of its members will seek a judicial review of An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision.