Stop it in its tracks.

Allow me to explain...

Issue #2

This issue will primarily focus on mother and baby homes, but this post hits close to home for me.

Five days ago (at the time of writing) campaigner Carmel Cantwell and I launched a petition. Our aim? To block all future development on the grounds of Bessborough — a mother and baby home that ran between 1922 and 1998: 76 years long and had seen almost 19,000 people in total go through its gates. But you might ask, “Daniel, why did you launch it? What are you trying to achieve”. Here’s why.

So as I mentioned perhaps numerous times on social media, I have a relative who went through Bessborough — “Beth”, she was born in Bessborough and survived. But the thing is, if “Beth” did not survive, I wouldn’t exist. In genealogy, many of us have an old family home or like to walk the lands where our ancestors once stood. That’s our physical family history. Bessborough is my family’s history. What once used to be a 200-acre estate has now become a 60-acre area (You can read a brief history of Bessborough in this piece by the BBC). Most of which has been bought by developers who wish to build apartments/some other form of development. One developer who I talked about in Issue #1, MWB Two Ltd. had submitted planning permission to develop on their area not once, but twice. Thankfully by whatever powers that be at the Cork City Council, they were both refused.

Our aim is to first make sure the existing Bessborough lands are preserved. Our ambition is for the Government to investigate thoroughly by any modern means to determine if there are burials on the grounds and determine whether or not there is a mass graveyard in Bessborough. We believe that a fitting way to remember all the women and children that were separated through forced adoption and those that died is to create a regional park in their memory, this is the least we can do to commemorate all of those who went through the home.

The way I am seeing it however others may disagree is that it’s the erasure of history for almost 19,000 women and children and their families. It’s important it is preserved. If you want to make your voice heard, whether you went through the home yourself, are a relative - like me of someone who went through it or a citizen concerned about the issue at hand — wherever you are in the world, you can sign this petition. It only takes a minute and please share it wherever you can.

Help us protect Bessborough.