According to its official report, the commission of inquiry set up by the Irish state has found clear evidence of the deaths of 9,000 children. The mother-child homes for single women were run for decades and until 1998 by religious organizations, mostly Catholic orders, and controlled by the Irish state.
Prime Minister Michael Martin spoke of deeply “disturbing” findings and complicity of society. The report paints the picture of a “misogynist culture prevailing in Ireland for decades”. “We had a completely disturbed attitude towards sexuality and intimacy, and young mothers and their sons and daughters had to pay a terrible price for this disturbance.” It is therefore important to deal with this tragedy “as a nation”.
Michael Martin wants to apologize in Parliament on Wednesday on behalf of the state for the suffering caused
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About 15 percent of the children who were born in the homes during the examined period of 76 years also died there, as the commission reported. A total of 56,000 unmarried mothers and 57,000 children were housed in the homes.
“Cold and loveless” atmosphere
Respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal inflammation were found to be the main causes of death in infants and children. “The absence of professional staff, combined with a general indifference to the fate of children born in the homes, has contributed to the appalling infant mortality rate,” the report said. Obviously there was a “cold and loveless” atmosphere there. All women suffered serious discrimination. You and your children should never have been in such facilities, is the conclusion of the investigation report.
The former mother-and-child home in Tuam, County Galway
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The commission examined the reasons for the high child mortality rates in a total of 18 church-run homes for unmarried mothers between 1922 and 1998. In strictly Catholic Ireland, it was common practice to place women who became pregnant before marriage in such facilities. Often the women became pregnant through rape, others had health or psychological problems.
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