'This is our history' - Limerick hunger strike says after not eating and sleeping rough for 51 days

A LIMERICK woman who was on hunger strike and sleeping rough for 51 days says that their group's medical health was declining, as the strike progressed and now she  is hoping she will be able to enjoy Christmas dinner with her family. 

The Government has committed to medical, housing and pension supports for 4,000 industrial school survivors, which were originally promised, but never delivered, 26 years ago. 

Mary Dunlevy Greene was taken from her family home in Kilteely, away from her father and brothers, including a newborn brother, after her mother died in childbirth. 

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She was just four-years-old and was taken into State care at what is known as ‘The Mount’ industrial school on O'Connell Avenue in the city. 

She travelled to Dublin with Miriam Moriarty Owens, Mary Donovan and Maurice Patton O'Connell near the end of September and they set up camp outside Leinster House. 

For two and a half months, they survived only on water with electrolytes, tea and coffee, while sleeping outside in the testing elements.

When they were taken into State care, it was through the courts, and they each got a criminal record, which will now be expunged. 

“A lot of people went to their graves with that criminal record hanging over their heads and they have now been expunged posthumously,” Mrs Dunlevy Greene said.

 “Medically, we were starting to dwindle,” the 73-year-old admitted, adding that she herself was on a nebuliser twice daily and was taking antibiotics. 

She said that they all knew what they were entering into and accepted that “it had to be done.”

Taking this very public stand outside Leinster House also meant that this group told their stories and talked about what they experienced in these schools - many for the first time. 

“I never told my children or grandchildren what happened to me as a young one, they would have been labelled and unable to progress in life - I kept it to myself.

“We’ve held it for long enough, we’re now going to have to answer a lot of questions, but hopefully people will be able to speak about their past and the truth and put it into their own history and into the history books - it’s dirty, but it’s part and parcel of what happened,” she said. 

A LIMERICK woman who went on hunger strike outside Leinster House for 51 days in a bid to get more supports for survivors of industrial schools, has said that their experiences need to be in  history books and not silenced.

Mary Dunlevy Greene, originally from Kilteely, now living in Carlow, was taken from her family and into State care at the age of four. She spent most of her young life in  an industrial school known as ‘The Mount’ on O’Connell Avenue. 

The 73-year-old grandmother went on hunger strike with three others; Miriam Moriarty Owens (68), Mary Donovan (57) and Maurice Patton O’Connell (57). 

After sleeping out in treacherous conditions and only consuming water with electrolytes and tea or coffee, the group met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin who agreed to give 4,000 survivors what they asked for, at a meeting on November 10. 

They will now get universal medical cards, for which they will choose a name, there will be a dedicated housing officer in each county council to liaise with survivors on housing needs, they will get a State pension and their criminal records, which were created when they were taken into State care as children, will be expunged. 

“A lot of people went to their graves with that criminal record hanging over their heads and they have now been expunged posthumously,” Mrs Dunlevy Greene said.

The supports will be specific to survivors so that they will not have to relive their traumatic experiences and explain what they went through as children, every time they engage with services. 

“We achieved more than we thought we would achieve and got everything in writing,” Mrs Dunlevy Greene told the Limerick Leader. 

“Medically, we were starting to dwindle,” the 73-year-old admitted, as she herself was on a nebuliser twice daily and was taking antibiotics. 

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She said that they all knew what they were entering into and accepted that “it had to be done.”

“We went into this knowing it was a final resort, we left the doors open for years of negotiating, but we had to do this, some survivors are living in dire straits, their life depends on staying at home and being institutionalised again is one of the worst fears for someone who came from these schools. They are completely on their own and isolated,” the Limerick native said. 

Taking this very public stand outside Leinster House also meant that this group told their stories and talked about what they experienced in these schools - many for the first time. 

Speaking about the trauma which remains to this day, Mrs Dunlevy Greene said that she can’t even go into a hospital, because the walls and floors bring her back to her time in the home and she can see herself on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. 

The Limerick woman said: “My saving grace was that I left the country, I went to the UK and I was anonymised, nobody asked where I was from or where I went to school and I was able to progress off my own back.”

Speaking about what she went through, the 73-year-old said: “We got no love - no care - nothing. We were told that nobody loved us, that nobody cared about us and that we would amount to nothing.”

She spoke about the public crossing the street when they were seen outside, so as not to be seen near ‘the orphans’ - but Mrs Dunlevy Greene was adamant in saying: “I was no orphan. I was kidnapped from my home with no personal items and I never saw my reflection in a mirror until I left.

“I didn’t even have my own underwear, we changed it once a week and picked something that fit from a pile, nothing was marked or belonged to anyone.” 

She said that when the strike started: “The leaves on the trees were profuse and green and now they are nearly bare, we endured storms, pouring rain and glorious sunshine in the beginning.” 

Having not eaten for more than 50 days, Mrs Dunlevy Greene and her three fellow activists will now recuperate, regain their strength and they will have to slowly re-introduce food. 

“I’m eating very little, I still can’t sit down and eat a meal. It’s like learning to eat again, but I’ll do a bit more every day hopefully. I’m looking forward to hopefully eating dinner on Christmas Day and spending time with my family. Everybody will be gathered around,” the Kilteely woman  said. 

The grandmother appreciated that this was very hard for her family, saying: “They went through it as much as I did, if not more and my own GP was very worried, but I was being monitored every day.” 

“We did this with good hearts for our fellow man - for our brothers and sisters.” 

Mrs Dunlevy Greene also commended President Connolly for her support of their efforts to get medical, financial and housing supports and thanked her for publicly speaking out in the Dáil before she was elected president.

 The group thanked everyone who shared their story, the Limerick Leader who covered this story  early in the hunger strike, their families and those who helped them on the ground with very practical assistance such as keeping them warm and monitoring them medically. 

They also thanked the public who heard their stories and supported their hunger strike.