More than 1,000 babies and young mothers remembered in Limerick ceremony

THE WINDOWS of St Munchin’s College in Corbally were aglow last night, as 1,113 candles were lit to represent the mothers and babies who died in the Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby home in Roscrea. 

Organised by principal Lorraine Shiels, the moving event was inspired by a mother of one of the students in the school, Ann Connolly, who was herself a survivor of that mother and baby home. 

“Born there in 1968 and adopted to a family in Limerick, she has spent much of her adult life learning about the truth of what happened in that place and about the 1,090 babies and 23 women who died there from neglect, starvation, exposure and other needless suffering,” Ms Shiels said. 

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The home at Sean Ross Abbey is also where much of Philomena Lee’s story originated, the Newcastle West had her story and experience turned into an Oscar-nominated movie ‘Philomena’ starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. 

Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea was run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary between the 1930’s and 1970’s. 

Many women, mostly young mothers, some of whom got pregnant outside of marriage or were the victims of rape, were sent to these homes where they would work, give birth and often leave the home and their baby. 

The babies who survived spent most of their lives trying to trace their roots and find out who their parents were, while others went to their graves never knowing. 

Ms Connolly said it was a tough life for the young mothers: “Their names were changed, their clothes taken, their whole identity stripped away. The maternity care they got, if they got any was shocking and a lot of them are still living with the damage today.”

Speaking about the babies who never got a chance to live, Ms Connolly said: “So many of these children died unnecessarily. These deaths should never have happened.”

The event, which was visually striking and emotional, has been described as “simple, but powerful.”

Ms Connolly thanked Donal in Nancy Blakes for providing the candles and the staff, parents and students of St Munchin's College in Corbally for all of their work for the candlelit vigil.