Project Infant

(Red = burial found, Black = missing) My view on the Bessborough situation: Irrespective of what campaigners and advocates strive for, we must not let what we want supersede what needs to be done as a matter of urgency. I feel, with all that’s going on at the moment, the focus is not where it should be. It should be on locating the children. Should a CPO be pursued, it will only add on years of waiting and bureaucracy to an already lengthened & drawn out wait for any mothers still trying to find their child / family members trying to locate their relative who died here. If we want to find those children, Bessborough needs to be independently investigated first, before anything else. CPO, memorialisation etc. can come in due course, but those children *need* to be found first. I hope that the investigation begins as soon as possible. #Bessborough #ireland #motherandbabyhomes #irish #cork

On Sheela’s Day, a day in Irish tradition connected with birth, regeneration and the fierce protection of life, I sent the Taoiseach and Cork City Council the names of babies who died in Bessborough. Names - so they are remembered in the dignity of the human lives they were. Today I am asking people across Ireland, and especially the Taoiseach @michealmartintd , the Minister for Children @normafoleytd , and @corkcitycouncil — to take a small moment of remembrance. Take one name from the list. Read it aloud. Hold it in your heart for ten seconds. Because each name was a child. Each child deserves dignity. Gratitude to @carmel.cantwell who is William’s sister, Project Infant @projectinfant who is collating the names of all the babies who died in institutions across Ireland, journalists @donal_okeeffe @alisonbethoreilly and survivor and advocate @nollester for their work ensuring these children are not forgotten. Join us this evening to say clearly: No building over Bessborough. 📍 Outside the Dáil ⏰ 5.30pm today A letter template is available at the link in my bio if you wish to write to the Taoiseach, the Minister for Children, or Cork County Council asking them to honour the names of these children. And to call a halt to building on Bessborough. The list of babies names is there too. Please remember them 💞 Le Grá, Laura P.S. I have shared reverently some of the babies names in my Stories. Please hold them with care. #bessborough #motherandbabyhomes #sheela #sitesofconscience #ireland

On Mother’s Day today, we at Project Infant are remembering the mothers who died in Ireland’s mother and baby homes. Here are the names of 88 mothers we have been able to identify so far... #motherandbabyhomes #ireland #mothersday

UPDATE: The individual in the video has now acknowledged and clarified the work of Project Infant in the creation of the boards and lists of names. —— I don’t intend to create squabbles but I can’t let the work of my volunteers at @projectinfant be highlighted. Only for them would those boards (and extra 74 names) have been found and created. Please give credit where credit is due. #projectinfant #bessborough #motherandbabyhomes #saytheirnames Video excerpt: Corruption Awareness Ireland

We're honoured to share that Project Infant has recorded the deaths of 231 [2] women and [229] children who died between 1920 and 1964 in the Protestant-run Bethany Home to our website. You can view the names on our website. #MotherAndBabyHomes

Consider helping #ProjectInfant find the names of those who died in #motherandbabyhomes & many more institutions. #ireland #history #volunteer

It's finally here. Read our latest content update via our update feed (link to that is in our bio)

We’re announcing the addition of 369 people who died in the Stranorlar County Home to our website. You can go to our website to see the list of names. [link in bio] Visit our update feed to read the latest update. [link in bio]

As it had been done with Pelletstown, here is a word cloud with 206 surnames found in the Stranorlar (Tirconnaill) County Home in Donegal. We're doing this to show how easy it is to potentially know someone who was born in / is connected to / may have died in these homes. #donegal #ireland #motherandbabyhomes

Read our latest progress update. The link to our update feed is in our bio!

The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill, 2022 was signed into #law today. I wish that the Bill had gone back into the Dail / Seanad again. This excludes so many people. (My mother being one of them) #ireland #fyp #trending #news #justice #motherandbabyhomes

A post commemorating all who died in mother and baby institutions covered by Project Infant on July 1st. So they may never be forgotten.