Tuam and Ireland’s shame: unedited interview with historian Diarmaid Ferriter – Blog

ellioshie m
the child mortality rate in orphanages eg smyllum, must of been higher than the general rate. but yet, they say there was no foul play to the amount of child deaths.
Rock Reynolds
This horrific problem CANNOT be solved by appointing “investigative commissions”, as claimed in this video. “Investigative commission” IS NOT the “proper” first step. “Investigative commissions” ALWAYS cover up problems (That’s why they’re appointed!). This horrific problem can only be solved by getting the word to the people. Start running “News” stories about these atrocities, instead of stories about who Lady Gaga is dating.
freebeerfordworkers
35.04 The workhouse system was indeed inherited from Britain because it was the same in Britain at the time but through the 20th century it evolved whereas in Ireland it was frozen in 1922. Likewise Irelands child protection laws were passed by the British Parliament for the whole United Kingdom before independence. Again in Britain these continued to develop and evolve while thanks to the church most of Irelands child protection law was unchanged and no new laws were passed until the 1970s. In short – he implies the problem was caused by, or originated with the British rather than the failure of the Irish government keep pace with social developments for 70 years.
Austin Moore
Those who were involved in those horrible crimes that went on in those hell holes must face justices for those horrible crimes
M Harryvan
Whats striking is , is the collaboration between the Irish govt and the church.
M Harryvan
If Dr. Browne’s Mother and Child Act had been passed, sealed and canned in within the legal teamwork for Irish law(does such exist?!) ……these horror houses would never have had access to young women. On top of this, what mother would actually condone sending her daughter to one of those criminal institutions? SO unfortunate how weak and ineffective Irish government was instead of laying the foundation as a DUTY OF CARE TO ITS CITIZENS.
MK Narrowboater
A very frustrating interview. Noone can be specifically blamed, no institution can be specifically blamed, no congregation can be specifically blamed, no government department, government minister or civil servant can be specifically blamed. There is no estimate, or guesstimate of the number of mother and baby homes (both state and private). How can anyone seeking closure or even just an explanation accept this state of affairs ?
Evelyn McCabe
Excellent historian
terhitormanen
What is also so very obvious is that it was the women who were punished to have had sex outside of marriage. But it takes a man to conceive the child, but, noo, the men were not responsible. Misogyny and double-standards. Shame on the Irish society and the Catholic Church.
Artie Miss
Wow! This guy is looking after his own career and conveniently ignoring all the documented facts from survivors.
irish buster
the babies in the septic tanks in TUAM , where in fact not disposed down the sewers as people say , but where carried down the steeps into what was an open sewer, more like a small swimming pool which now has large concrete cubes running in a line connected with piping very close together and with concrete lids maybe one inch tick that can be pushed either way. this was the new sewerage system that was built for the nuns, but not short after that the home was connected to the main sewerage system, so this system was disused.. so the nuns decided that they would keep the 5 pound note the GCC gave them to bury the children and get one of the domestics (woman who had been trought the system herself and was never allowed to leave) to carry the dead child down the back feild where the sewerage system was in the middle of the night and place the child in the concrete cubes, the chidren were wrapped in swaddling and place on top of each other and then the lid closed over again till the next child died. always follow the money,,
Marti Williams
Thank you for informing us.
Anfear Glag
Thanks very much for uploading – probably the most balanced and informed response to the Tuam baby scandal I’ve come across.
dromgarvan
thank you for posting
Hilda Jensen
I will never understand religious logic: Two people commit sin by having unmarried sex and creating a child. The child had no responsibility in this, but we punish it for the sin anyway. The mother of the child is a sinner, and we punish her hard. The father of the child might be a sinner, but we forgive this sin and let him live his life without consequences for his actions. Then we try to forget any of this ever happened. This is how we uphold a high moral standard.
Richard Craig
This is indeed a damming indictment on Ireland and the weakness of the state of giving the Catholic Church (who ran all these terrible places) a, free reign. Thank goodness things are a lot better now and that the church has suffered
Niamh Leonard
It is shocking even if infant mortality rates were high Misrepresented
Columba Iona
Listen to Diarmaid’s words from 14.44 – Historians are not in the blame game and nor should they be. You may note that the people vilifying the Church over what happened are not people with Degrees in History.
Angel Weir
The government and the church were responsible
David Morris
Don’t mention the good that nuns (who travelled from France) have done for decades, who gave up their comfortable middle class lives to help pregnant mothers (sometimes within their own family) and gave professional midwife births a roof over their heads and food etc,  when everyone else (including the whole family had abandoned them, and the father of the baby, where is the criticism here where it belongs?) and there was not even a functioning government, never mind a dept. of health or finance. When the state finally started to get organised it was so busy implementing huge projects like the electricity networks, same for fresh water and sewage systems and later telephone network that it was happy to leave the nuns with the problem. These women did more, for no gain, in times of unbelievable poverty, they and the mothers  were the ones holding the babies as they watched their lives slip away with the plagues of the times and malnourishment that took these little ones e.g. Typhoid, Diphtheria, Polio, T.B.,Pneumonia, Diarrhoea, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis , Measles, Mumps, whooping cough, Rotavirus, Rubella and Tetanus, the Spanish Flu pandemic  etc. as certified on their doctors death certs, with higher death rates because so many sick and undernourished children were packed into close proximity, same as the Tenements in the cities. Putrid underground drinking water, unpasteurized milk, poor sanitation, rampant diseases, civil war, world wars (2), depressions, general strikes, rationing etc.  and the lack of funding (Sound Familiar?) All this despite reams of letters to the authorities for more help. Today’s people cannot even begin to imagine for thousands of pregnant girls and their babies than any of these well paid t.d.s or campaigners, or keyboard warriors ever did, as they try to read history BACKWARDS.! They started hospitals and schools and served for free to help the Irish poor with real free education and hospitalisation. In doing so, laid the foundations of the modern welfare state. WE WOULD NOT HAVE AN EDUCATION OR HEALTH SYSTEM WITHOUT THEM So not one shred of actual evidence of any nun harming a baby. But hey, let’s find them guilty and then we can conduct inquiries.  Don’t forget the nuns are buried there also. I hope I can keep in the laughing here, THEY WANT TO KILL HEALTHY IRISH BABIES AND HAVE THEM FLUSHED DOWN INTO THE SEWERS, WITH NO IDENTITY OR MARKING OF THEIR EXISTENCE! Abortion is the biggest child abuse!
Vanessa Gannon
This is so so terrabel and sad.i gave my baby son up for adoption in ireland in 1996 and was disowned by my family and am disowned to this day and so is my son disowned by my family also sham sham sham on the church and state.
M Harryvan
A commission wont achieve anything. Waste of taxpayers money. All those nuns need a day in court and all that land should be returned to the state.
Tess Mason
All property belonging to the Catholic priests and nuns must be sold and given to the survivors of these evil place’s
katherine barbery
People trust the church to look after their children,if they knew the truth would there have been so many sent to these places.the servants of God should be so caring not the way these holy people act.Where does it say in the bible that bishop.priests ,nuns and the holy people can sexually and mentally torment those children in their care!!!!!!!
 
Niamh Leonard
The control of malnutrition was within the gift of the religious
Gary Buckley
They will investigate the homes but will they look at the garda connection to all this shit????? Follow the money?
Angel Weir
How. Many children were dumped in these septic tanks then omg
sherp2u1
Blah, blah, blah…the country wasn’t even fully independent, so the Church had to step in….
tony irish
did he say that the 800 bodies is not true… at …11.30… tell the fucking truth