Senator Harmon calls for memorial, not large developments at Bessborough
Senator Harmon calls for memorial, not large developments at Bessborough - The Labour Party
Senator Harmon speaking ahead of the “No Building Over Bessborough” protest called for State intervention. The protest, taking place the evening outside the gates of Leinster House, rallied against the construction of a 140‑unit apartment development on the site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home.
Senator Harmon said:
“We know this site is likely a mass grave. It is wholly inappropriate for this type of development. Nearly 859 babies who died at Bessborough remain unaccounted for. This is a site where thousands of mothers and children were victimised by the State and have still not received full justice. Institutions that were meant to protect these women and their babies were instead perpetrators of violence and oppression.
“We are very clear about this in the Labour Party
We must treat these sites as what they are: sites of oppression and sites of conscience. The mishandling of the cases of mothers and their babies that was allowed to take place behind these walls cannot be forgotten. Paving over our shameful history in this way is not something any of us should support.
“I am calling for sufficient surveying to be carried out by the State. this should be the State’s responsibility, not an afterthought for a private construction company. Once this is completed, a commemoration must follow. Creating a garden of remembrance on this site would be a appropriate use of this land moving forward. I’m calling on Mícheál Martin to step in and protect Bessborough from being paved over. This site is in his constituency; he must act now to commemorate this atrocity and show real support to these survivors.
“The condition in these plans stating that work will only halt if human remains are found appears like an afterthought and a further kick in the teeth to survivors. My Labour colleague, Cllr Peter Horgan, is lodging an appeal this week with Carmel Cantwell, whose mother was in Bessborough.
“We are standing at the gates of Leinster House today in solidarity with all survivors, with those who died, and with everyone whose hearts were broken in Bessborough.”