Last week I spoke to institutional abuse survivor Cecil Wilson, who after almost four decades, bravely made a formal police complaint about a violent assault carried out by a teacher inside one of Northern Ireland’s most notorious children’s homes. This June will exactly mark 40 years since Cecil was left with permanent damage toContinue reading “‘I want to send a clear message to all abusers…we are coming after you. You will all face justice’”
Tag Archives: institutional abuse
Irish nuns sold ‘dead’ babies to America
By Patricia Devlin A SHELVED report which revealed concerns nuns falsified the deaths of babies before selling them to parents in the USA was seen by two Ministers, a former HSE chief has claimed. Former Children and Family Services assistant director Phil Garland says the explosive 2012 report was passed to then Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald and HealthContinue reading “Irish nuns sold ‘dead’ babies to America”
‘You are holding your baby and you are being told you are a filthy, selfish whore’
WHEN Terri Harrison discovered her period was late in February 1973, she knew she had to leave Catholic Ireland. “The plan was if I discovered I wasn’t pregnant I’d have a ball for about a month and then come home,” said Terri. “If I was then to hell with everyone else, I wasn’t coming back.” WithinContinue reading “‘You are holding your baby and you are being told you are a filthy, selfish whore’”
Child number 1629 – David’s story
By Patricia Devlin This month I spoke to a number of survivors of Ireland’s horrific mother and baby institutions. One of those was David Kinsella, a Dublin man who was born in the notorious St Patrick’s facility on the Navan Road. The 58 year-old’s story is incredibly heartbreaking. Set aside the abuse he suffered from the very dayContinue reading “Child number 1629 – David’s story”
Branded a fallen woman, but Mary was just another victim of Catholic Ireland
WHEN Francis Timmons held his dying mother’s hand, he felt like the luckiest man on earth. For not many children who survived the horrors of the 1970’s Irish care system were as fortunate to be with their mothers. “To be beside her when she was dying and to hold her hand…I was very luckyContinue reading “Branded a fallen woman, but Mary was just another victim of Catholic Ireland”
Patricia Devlin 