Mayo County Council apologises for role in mother and baby homes

MAYO County Council issued an apology to victims and survivors of mother and baby homes for the role it played at a special meeting to discuss the Commission of Investigation report into the homes today.

An appeal by Breeda Murphy of the Tuam Mother and Baby Alliance for the council to open its files to survivors was supported by elected members.

The commission's report revealed that 30.88% of the 2,219 mothers admitted to the Tuam Mother and Baby Home were from Co. Mayo. Admissions from the county started in 1931. Before that, mothers and babies were sent to the county home in Castlebar.

There was a call today from Councillor Donna Sheridan for a memorial in Mayo to recognise the people who were sent to both.

Cathaoirleach Councillor Richard Finn, at the online meeting, offered a 'sincere and humble apology' to all the victims of this sad time in our history.

Mayo County Council and other local authorities had a role in supporting the institutions until the 1970s, when the health boards took over all healthcare functions, he explained.

As cathaoirleach, he wanted to express his solidarity with those who suffered appalling abuse and torment over many years.

Chief executive Mr. Peter Duggan said the report made for grim reading but he hoped its publication would give some solace to those impacted by the 'horrendous' regime that was in place.

The Taoiseach, he said, had issued a formal apology on behalf of the State to former residents and their children.

“Today, I would like to express sorrow and apologise for Mayo County Council's role in the practices that were employed in dealing with these women and children,” Mr. Duggan told the meeting.

“I want to reaffirm the commitment and renewed determination of this local authority to our efforts to assist and support those impacted and their families, and to contribute to the national effort to heal and atone for the grievous harm that was inflicted.”

Councillor Christy Hyland made the point that redress comes in many forms. It is, he said, about truth, accountability, access to records, and testimonies.

He proposed an annual bursary or scholarship be awarded, and also raised the issue where children who were boarded out, as opposed to adopted, later inherited homes and farms and were hit with tax bills. Their unfair treatment should be addressed, he said.

He was also unhappy that survivors, when meeting the commission, if they required legal advice would have to pay for it themselves.

A request by Councillor Sheridan for a suitable memorial in Mayo was supported by her colleagues.

And Councillor Michael Kilcoyne made the point that while apologies are welcome, they are only meaningful if the people whose lives were destroyed were compensated and given the necessary redress. Successive governments had failed miserably in this regard.

In seeking access to the council's archives, Breeda Murphy said without them one would get a 'skewed record'.

“If we have part of a story we don't have the truth,” she stated.

Redress, she added, is far more than financial compensation. We were talking about accountability. “We need to be truthful and not hide any more.”

Mr. Duggan assured the meeting that any information held by the council would be open for inspection.