Cavan County Council apologises to survivors of mother and baby homes

"While this apology cannot undo the past, it is acknowledgement of our deep regret that the girls and young women were failed by the State and a recognition that this Council was part of that failure."

Cavan County Council has apologised "unreservedly" to the survivors of mother and baby homes and their families following the publication last month of the final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.

The apology was delivered by the Cathaoirleach of the local authority, Cllr Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) at their February monthly meeting this afternoon.

"On behalf of the council, I wish to apologise unreservedly to the girls, young women and their babies, the survivors and those now deceased, and their relatives for the pain and suffering caused, while in any institution under the support of this Council," she said.

More than 1,135 Cavan women were identified as residents in eight Mother and Baby Homes across the State in the final report of the Commission’s Investigation.

The home in Castlepollard, run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, took the largest number of women from the Breffni county between 1935 and 1971 when it finally closed.

The report, which prompted a raft of apologies including a State apology by an Taoiseach Micheál Martin, made 69 specific references to Cavan in its almost 3,000 pages. There was no such dedicated mother and baby home in Cavan, though provision for the county was made in the above named homes, specifically Castlepollard and Dunboyne; as well as other institutions and county homes not covered by the work of the Commission.

Cllr O'Reilly welcomed the State apology and outlined the next steps.

"The Government now intends to give detailed consideration to the report over the coming months with a view to developing a comprehensive action plan to address eight specific themes to include:

- A survivor-centred approach;

- Apology;

- Access to Personal Information;

- Archiving and Databases;

- Education and Research;

- Memorialisation;

- Restorative Recognition; and

- Dignified Burial.

Cllr O'Reilly, in her statement, outlined the Council's role in relation to the establishment of such homes.

"In 1954, Cavan County Council partnered with four neighbouring local authorities (Louth, Longford, Monaghan and Westmeath), supported Meath County Council to establish a Mother and Baby Home in Dunboyne, which operated from 1955 until it closed in 1991.

"Cavan County Council acknowledges its role in the establishment of the Dunboyne Mother and Baby Home and that as a health authority, the Council also supported a number of other facilities such as Bethany, Dublin and Castlepollard, Co Westmeath," she continued.

"I wish to sincerely apologise to the residents, their children, their families, and the relatives of those who resided in these Homes and who suffered or were mistreated while resident there," said the Bailieborough based local representative.

"While this apology cannot undo the past, it is acknowledgement of our deep regret that the girls and young women were failed by the State and a recognition that this Council was part of that failure," she added.

"It is an acknowledgement of the stories of these Cavan people. Their stories should be listened to and respected by us all," concluded Cllr O'Reilly.