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___ The ___
ADOPTION
MACHINE
For my favorite girl Molly and my little man Gavin,
my healers and the meaning of my life
For Siobhán, the love of my life
Dedicated to my parents
Jack and Anita Redmond
Paul Redmond was born in Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home in December 1964. Chairperson of the survivor umbrella group, the Coalition of Mother and Baby home Survivors (CMABS), Paul also produced the very first report highlighting the mortality rates and general cruelty in the Homes and calling for a public inquiry. After the Tuam 800 story broke, he was instrumental in working with the media to increase the public and political attention on the other Mother and Baby Homes and their mortality rates. He continues to advocate tirelessly on behalf of all survivors of Ireland’s wider, forced adoption network.
___ The ___
ADOPTION
MACHINE
THE DARK HISTORY OF IRELAND’S
MOTHER AND BABY HOMES AND THE INSIDE STORY
OF HOW TUAM 800 BECAME A GLOBAL SCANDAL
PAUL JUDE REDMOND
First published in 2018 by
Merrion Press
An imprint of Irish Academic Press
10 George’s Street
Newbridge
Co. Kildare
Ireland
© Paul Jude Redmond, 2018
9781785371776 (Paper)
9781785371783 (Kindle)
9781785371790 (Epub)
9781785371806 (PDF)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
An entry can be found on request
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
An entry can be found on request
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved alone, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Interior design by www.jminfotechindia.com
Typeset in Minion Pro 11.5/14.5 pt
Cover design by www.phoenix-graphicdesign.com
Cover/jacket front: A shrine in Tuam, Co. Galway, on 9 June 2014, erected in memory of up to 800 children who were allegedly buried at the site of the former home for unmarried mothers run by nuns. © Paul Faith/Getty Images.
Cover/jacket back: A homemade nail in the wall at Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home Angels’ Plot. The workmen hammered these nails into the wall every time they buried a baby, as a memorial. ©Kim Haughton/The Sunday Times.
Contents
PART 1 BACKGROUND AND FOUNDATIONS, 1739–1944
1. The Age of the Institutions
2. Building High Walls: The First Mother and Baby Home and Other Institutions
3. Going Our Own Way: The Mother and Baby Homes Expansion
4. Holy Catholic Ireland: A New Model
5. Behind the High Walls: Daily Life in the Homes
PART 2 IN LIVING MEMORY, 1944–1990
6. Changing Times: Disappearing at the Crossroads
7. Welcome to the Machine
8. The Beginning of the End
PART 3 CAMPAIGNING, 1990–2013
9. The Adoption Community
10. Running to Stand Still
11. Facebook and the Young Guns
12. Campaigning: New Tactics, New Strategies, New Ideas
PART 4 BREAKTHROUGH, 2014–2017
13. From Tuam to Castlepollard via the Rest of the World
14. The Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes
15. Opening the Adoption Records
16. Fighting for Full Inclusion
17. Reflections
18. Talking with Shadows
Appendix: Tracing Guide for Natural Mothers and Adoptees
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without so many people. Some do not wish to be named but they know they are in my thoughts
