The previous Bessborough mother and baby home site in Cork City is being considered for purchase and transformation into a memorial garden. Pressure is mounting on the Cork City Council to intervene following An Bord Pleanála’s refusal to grant planning permission for a 92-apartment development in proximity to a location identified as a Children’s Burial Ground in a 1950s Ordnance Survey map. It is believed the site could be the resting place for hundreds of infants who lost their lives at the home throughout a span of six decades.
Maureen Considine, from the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance (CSSA), expressed satisfaction over the decision but insisted that the land must now be handled with the same decorum as any other public burial ground. She believes the city council should act promptly to purchase the property. Alternatively, the developers could potentially offer it as a donation. She asserts the necessity of a memorial to honour the infants who died at Bessboro.
The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes detailed in their January 2021 report that Bessborough had been managed by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary between 1922 and 1998. During this period, it served 9,768 women and 8,938 children. Of the children born there, 923 succumbed at infancy, but only 64 burial records were found. The whereabouts of the remaining 859 infants’ final resting places remain unknown.
An Bord Pleanála, while reviewing the revised MWB Two Ltd application, emphasised the Children’s Burial Ground’s potential to contain human remains. Declan Harrington from MWB Two Ltd expressed disappointment over the decision and stated that the company needs time to contemplate the ruling before commenting further. He chose not to comment on the proposal for the 1.5-hectare site’s acquisition by the council or its potential donation for a memorial garden’s development. Attempts to reach the council for commentary have been made.