Dr Claire McGettrick Born Lorraine Hughes

National Centre for Research and Remembrance The Clann Project has repeatedly asked the State to ensure that survivors and affected people are represented on boards that govern matters directly affecting them. Therefore, Clann welcomes the Government's recent call to survivors and affected people, encouraging them to apply for 'representation opportunities' on the National Centre for Research and Remembrance (NCRR) Steering Group, the National Museum of Ireland's 'Lived Experience expert panels' for the NCRR, and the Special Advocate for Survivors Advisory Council.  If you are interested in applying to become a member of one or more of the above committees, you can find the Government's 'Expression of Interest Form' here. The application process will remain open until 19th September 2025. If you are unable to complete the form electronically and do not have access to a printer, we encourage you to contact the Department's 'Mother and Baby Institutions Action Plan Unit' at motherandbabyhomes@dcde.gov.ie and ask them to send you a printed copy. Clann also welcomes the Government's use of the term 'survivors and affected persons'. We advocate for the use of 'affected people' or 'survivors and affected people' in lieu of the term 'survivors' when referring to the overall cohort of people impacted by Ireland's system of forced family separation and institutionalisation, because we are concerned that use of the collective term ‘survivor’ runs the risk of: (i) reinforcing the false narrative that abuses were perpetrated in institutional settings only; (ii) excluding people who were not born in Mother and Baby or County institutions; (iii) excluding mothers who did not give birth in Mother and Baby or County institutions; and (iv) excluding people who do not identify as 'survivors'. Importantly, how a person identifies has no bearing on whether human rights violations occurred—institutionalisation and forced family separation are abusive regardless of a person's preferred terms. It is crucial to ensure that nobody is left behind and that everyone impacted by this system feels represented in matters directly affecting them. Finally, Clann is concerned that survivors and affected people are still not represented on other boards and committees, such as the steering group for the upcoming review of the Birth (Information and Tracing) Act, and the board of the Adoption Authority.

Clann Project statement re the Government’s recent call to survivors and affected people, encouraging them to apply for ‘representation opportunities’ on the National Centre for Research and Remembrance (NCRR) Steering Group and other panels clannproject.org/ncrr/

5) Finally, I do not contend that 'affected people' is a perfect term & if anyone has a better suggestion I'm open to hearing it!

My motivation is to ensure that nobody is left behind, that everyone impacted by this system feels represented in matters directly affecting them.

4) Importantly, how a person identifies has no bearing on whether human rights violations occurred—institutionalisation and forced family separation are abusive regardless of people's preferred terms.

ℹ️ See this Clann Project submission: clannproject.org/wp-content/u...

3) Using the collective term ‘survivor’ also runs the risk of:

❌Excluding mothers who didn't give birth in Mother & Baby or County institutions;

❌Excluding people who do not identify as 'survivors'.

2) Amongst other things, using the collective term ‘survivor’ runs the risk of:

❌Reinforcing the false narrative that human rights abuses were perpetrated in institutional settings only;

❌Excluding people who were not born in Mother & Baby or County institutions;

1) I welcome the Dept's usage of the term 'affected persons' in its recent announcement👇

ℹ️Here's why I encourage the use of 'survivors and affected people' in lieu of 'survivors' when referring to people impacted by forced family separation & institutionalisation.

Press release from the Department this afternoon:

Minister Foley encourages survivors to apply for representation opportunities

www.gov.ie/en/departmen...

Mother of baby who died shortly after birth at Bessborough brings action over inquest refusal | BreakingNews.ie Madeleine Bridget Marvier was 17 years old when she was admitted to the home in Blackrock, Cork City, in August 1960. About two months later, she gave birth to her son, William Gerard Walsh.

www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/moth...

We at @jfmresearch.bsky.social are proud to have been able to fund expert report to support @carmelcantwell.bsky.social and her Madeleine and their determined legal team.

A photo of the former Magdalene Laundry at Sundays Well in Cork. It's a large red brick building on high ground.

JFM Research has made a submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála about the Proposed Property Developmentat the Site of the Former Magdalene Laundry at Sundays Well in Cork.

jfmresearch.com/wp-content/u...

How To Access Your Records This page provides information and guidance to people affected by institutionalisation and forced family separation about how to access records relating to their situation. Please note that new inform...

If you're a person affected by:

📂Forced family separation (eg adoption, boarding out)
📂Magdalene Laundries
📂Industrial Schools

You can learn how to access your records & challenge the withholding/redaction of your documents here: clannproject.org/records/

Really heartbroken to announce this. It is a terrible indictment of Irish society that organisations that represent marginalised communities cannot be sustained.

Grave injustice as adopted people must continue fight for their rights For those of us who have been involved in adoption activism over the past two decades, it often feels as though the Government is engaged in a war of attrition against adopted people, writes Claire Mc...

3) These legislative proposals (and those that would follow) presume that adopted people are needy stalkers and that mothers are closeted and terrified that their daughter or son will doorstep them.

For more ℹ️ see:

www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

www.thejournal.ie/readme/irish...

2) The bill proposed a contact veto mechanism where parents could veto contact from their adult children.

Adopted people in breach of that veto by simply contacting their mother or father would have faced a fine or imprisonment.

If I could contest it, I would happily do that’ – former minister Mary Hanafin ‘in the mix’ for Fianna Fáil presidential election nomination

(8) It will be a summary offence for an information recipient, or someone acting on his or her behalf to make written, verbal, electronic or personal contact, or attempt to contact or harass a person who has lodged a Contact Veto and a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding twelve months, shall apply in the case of a person or persons found guilty of such an offence.

2001 article featuring a photo of Mary Hanafin. The headline reads: Adopted people to get access to details of birth mothers

1) I see that Mary Hanafin is considering a run for the Áras.

A reminder that in 2001 MH tried to bring in legislation that would have seen adopted people fined or imprisoned for the ‘crime’ of contacting their mothers.

See (2) for details.

See this Clann submission for a critique of the State’s Action Plan 👇

6) For the above reasons I’d encourage people to continue to engage with the Special Advocate’s Office to ensure that ongoing issues will continue to be raised.

5) The prominence of affected people’s testimonies in the report speaks in volumes, as does the breadth of the issues covered.

Does it address absolutely everything? No. But it’s pretty close & in my view, a damning indictment of the State’s response to these abuses.

Annual Report - Special Advocate Read the Special Advocate's Annual Report

4) Finally, I’d encourage everyone to read the Special Advocate’s annual report: www.specialadvocate.ie/our-work/ann...

I had huge concerns about how this role was set up but Patricia & her colleagues in the SA’s office have been fantastic over the past year.

A process will be finalised to allow survivors and affected persons to share their lived experience – and/or physical items - with the National Museum, if they wish to do so. A programme will be designed to capture and gather survivor’s personal statements or records as part of the institutional records of the National Archives or to deposit them as private papers.

3) Second, govt has announced that affected people can deposit their testimonies, papers & artefacts with the National Archives & the National Museum.

I can’t overstate how important this is (🚨& I hope we don’t have a fight on our hands to ensure that this process is inclusive)

2) How the appointment process will work remains to be seen but for now I am reading this as a positive step in the right direction.

(NB affected people remain unrepresented on several other boards & committees that impact their lives.)

The Steering Group – which is responsible for developing the overall vision of the Centre - will be expanded to include four survivor representatives. These representatives will be full members of the Steering Group, alongside the Special Advocate for Survivors and members from Government departments and agencies. An open call for expressions of interest to join the Steering Group will be issued shortly. The National Museum will establish dedicated panels of survivors and affected persons, to inform the development of the museum element of the National Centre. There will be a central role for survivors in the governance of the National Centre, once it opens.

1) 🚨Today we’ve had 3 significant developments in the area of institutional & forced family separation abuses. 

First, our calls for representation of affected people on the National Centre for Research & Remembrance Steering Committee (& others) have finally been heard.

5) JFMR's submission also highlights:

🚨The State's failure to:

❌deliver the full range of healthcare to survivors as promised in the Quirke Report and as accepted by govt
❌fully implement the redress scheme as promised in the Quirke Report and as accepted by govt

4) JFMR's submission is available here: jfmresearch.com/wp-content/u...

It highlights:

🚨The absence of independent & thorough investigations into:

❌ Magdalene Laundry abuses
❌ the exhumation of 155 women from High Park

3) Clann's submission also highlights:

🚨The absence of:

❌full, unconditional access to all records
❌inquests into unexplained & undocumented deaths
❌representation of affected people on steering groups governing matters that concern them

2) Clann's submission is available here: clannproject.org/wp-content/u...

It highlights:

🚨The exclusion of thousands of affected people from:

❌redress
❌access to records
❌memorialisation

Home UN Web TV is available 24 hours a day with selected LIVE programming of United Nations meetings and events as well as with pre-recorded video features and documentaries on various global issues.

1) Thank you to the LLM Clann students for representing @clannproject.bsky.social & @jfmresearch.bsky.social at the CEDAW NGO oral presentations in Geneva today.

You can tune in between 2-3pm (Irish time) here: webtv.un.org/en

What does he mean, fears of being arrested for sharing a space are unfounded?? This happened! In 2019 2 Romanian workers were JAILED for sharing a space.

Removal of brothel-keeping law would ‘expand market’ for sex, O’Callaghan says Opponents say law endangers women working together for safety, but Minister for Justice believes fears are ‘unfounded’

How interesting to see Ruhama claim the brothel-keeping law does not prohibit sex workers sharing premises for safety, when Ruhama have openly opposed making it legal for sex workers to share premises for safety www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...

9) Finally, I remain eternally grateful to @sheilaahern.bsky.social who provided access to the late great Mary Raftery's archive. Without this access my research would have been impossible.

8) In my view, Ruhama's co-founders have no business being involved with marginalised groups.

In this context, their dominance of the narrative on sex work and the marginalisation of sex workers who go against that narrative (especially when it relates to safety) is most concerning.