From top: Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, Cork; St Jospeh’s Cemetery, Cork City

This afternoon.

Cork historian Maureen Considine has revealed that a resident of Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus, is buried under a false name ‘after being denied her true identity even in death’.

The woman is named as Anne Walsh in archival documents.

However, a plot at  St Joseph’s Cemetery, Cork city, identifies her as Doris Walsh

Via EchoLive:

Ms Considine explained that many women were given “house names” after entering the residence.

She has been working with Bessborough survivors to seek justice for women they claim were stripped of their identities.

The Mayfield woman, along with survivors she is working with, is calling on Bessborough nuns to replace such headstones and restore the birth names of mothers who passed away at the facility.

She is also calling for unmarked graves to be acknowledged with headstones, in a bid to prevent the whitewashing of history.

“This was something I felt I couldn’t ignore,” said Ms Considine.

“Restoring these women’s real names is asking so little. If a gesture like this can’t be honoured, we have to ask ourselves how far we’ve really come in our treatment of women and girls.”

‘Why should someone have the power to take away someone’s identity?’: Cork Mother and Baby home resident buried under ‘house name (EchoLIve)

Thanks Breeda

Meanwhile…

Our client has launched a #JR of the failure of the @healthdpt to implement a public Inquiry into mother and baby homes.
Pregnant women were detained, abused and had their children removed. These criminal acts must be investigated fully, without further delay. @SAVIA_NI pic.twitter.com/u8nKJvperr

— Claire McKeegan (@MckeeganClaire) November 9, 2020