Letters to the Editor: Recognition for every family affected by mother and baby homes

One reader writes in to say: 'The Church and the State demanded payment from adoptive parents as well as from the families of the mothers who were used and abused by all accounts'

The Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea, Tipperary, which was mother and baby home operated by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary from 1930 to 1970.

As a survivor of Sean Ross Abbey, I am horrified and deeply disturbed by the accounts of many of my fellow crib-mates. No amount of compensation could ever make up for the cruelty inflicted on women and girls and their children, but to essentially be told that your suffering was not long enough, or did not occur in a “sanctioned” location, compounds the loss for a mother or her baby’s lost family and childhood.

What happened in Ireland was human trafficking: The Church and the State demanded payment from adoptive parents as well as from the families of the mothers who were used and abused by all accounts, and then made to pay a price for their “upkeep” to regain their freedom, all while Church and State enjoyed the benefits of their free labour in laundries and orchards.