Religious orders at centre of report still have large presence in Ireland
Congregations are involved in healthcare and support services for women
THE Commission’s investigation of mother and baby homes covered many institutions with different governance, financial arrangements and practices between 1922 and 1998.
Some were owned and run by the local health authorities such as the county homes and Pelletstown, Tuam and Kilrush which employed some members of religious orders to run them.
Others were owned by religious orders – for example the three homes run by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Bessborough, Sean Ross Abbey and Castlepollard. As ‘extern’ homes they were not owned by the public assistance/health authorities but were largely paid for by those authorities.
Unlike workhouses and county homes, there were no specific regulations governing the extern mother and baby homes.
Who were the main Religious Orders associated with the running and operation of the mother and baby homes in Ireland?
Bon Secours
The Bon Secours Sisters ran St Mary’s Mother and Baby Home in Tuam from 1925 to 1961 under Galway Board of Health and Public Assistance.
They are an international women’s Religious congregation whose mission is to care for those who are sick and dying – traditionally involved in nursing.
The order was founded by Josephine Potel in 1824 in Paris, France. While the congregation’s historic motherhouse remains in Paris, the international headquarters is in Marriotsville, Maryland, USA. The first four Sisters came to Ireland in 1861.
There are roughly 80 Bon Secours Sisters in Ireland today and they work in Cork, Cobh and Mount Desert, in Dublin, Galway, Knock and Tralee. They also minister in France, Britain, North and
South America, and in South and East Africa.
The Sisters are linked to the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork which was established in 1915. With 300 beds, it is the largest private hospital in Ireland; and is a teaching hospital affiliated with UCC.
The Bon Secours Health System was formed in 1993 to coordinate the health care facilities under one limited company. As of April 2019, Bon Secours Health System had five acute-care hospitals in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Tralee and Dublin as well as a long-term care facility in Cork.
Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
They owned and operated three mother and baby homes: Bessborough, Co Cork (established in 1922); Castlepollard, Co Westmeath (established in 1931); and Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co Tipperary (established in 1935).
They are a small, international congregation founded in Paris, France in 1866 and work in seven countries around the world today.
The order is headquartered in Chigwell, Essex. There are currently five communities in Ireland: in Belfast, Knock and Cork and two in Roscrea. The largest community is in Cork where most of the Sisters are retired. Some are still involved in pastoral and parish work and ministry in schools.
The Bessborough Centre is now focused on providing high quality early years and family support services.
Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd
An international congregation of women Religious founded in 1835 in Angers, France dedicated to promoting the welfare of women and girls. It is present in 72 countries of the world.
The Good Shepherd Sisters were responsible for the dayto-day running of Ard Mhuire, Dunboyne, Co Meath, which opened in 1955. It was established by a group of local authorities. It closed in 1991.
The report states: “All the evidence seen by the Commission and the evidence of the majority of former residents who spoke to the Commission suggests that Dunboyne provided comfortable warm accommodation and the residents were well looked after physically,” and that Good Shepherd Sisters “were not directly involved in arrangements for adoption”.
There are 79 Sisters in Ireland today aged between 49 and 103 years.
In 2014, the congregation underwent a merger between the Order of Our Lady of Charity and Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.
The Sisters work with women involved in prostitution and helped found the anti-trafficking agency Ruhama. They also provide sheltered accommodation for vulnerable groups such as victims of domestic abuse.
Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul
They provided the staffing for Pellstown/St Patrick’s on the Navan Road, a facility owned by the Dublin Board of Guardians and its successors, including the Eastern Health Board.
After the Navan Road premises were sold in 1985, they transferred their remaining staff and residents to 75 Eglington Road in Donnybrook in Dublin 4.
The Daughters of Charity are an International congregation. Teaching was one of the first works undertaken by the Daughters of Charity when they came to Drogheda in 1855, and North William Street, Dublin in 1857.
They operated orphanages, industrial schools and elementary schools as well as homes for women in difficulty.
There are now 183 members in Ireland with a median age of 75 (2015).
As of 2019, 14,000 Sisters serve in 90 countries around the world. In the Irish Province the Daughters of Charity have 23 houses in various parts of the country, as well as six houses in Kenya, East Africa.
Members of the Daughters of Charity in Ireland today are involved in services for people who are homeless, hospice care and education.
They work with other agencies such as Crosscare, the Society of St Vincent de Paul, and de Paul Ireland, to help families who are homeless or in transition from one type of accommodation to another, as well as providing pastoral care in hostels and accompanying those who are homeless because of addiction and psychiatric problems.
The Daughters of Charity are also involved in the Vincentian Partnership and in services to those with an intellectual disability through the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services.
There are roughly 80 Bon Secours Sisters in Ireland today