Mothers Announce Own Public Inquiry Into Genocide

By -

11th April, 2017 - Irish First Mothers is to conduct it's own Public Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes and practices of coercion in pregnancy . The inquiry will feature broadcast of public testimony relevant to our genocide claim against the Irish State -which was served by recorded delivery on the Attorney General today. [Tracking: RL573384676IE ]

The first internet public broadcasts of testimony will be on 19th and 20th April, 2017.

Testimony will be released on the IrishFirstMothers.com website. More on the timing, and schedule will be released next week, but for now we plan bi-weekly broadcasts featuring live and pre-recorded testimony.
  • Testimony will be by members of Irish First Mothers who are living witnesses of this genocidal system. Some witnesses will be named, some first name only, some a pseudonym. Witnesses will include some who have been before the Commission. Our first two living witnesses have not.

  • The time period and institution / hospital /agency etc will be named - unless that would make the testimony problematic legally. If so, we will withhold identifying details and let the rest of the witness testimony speak for itself.

  • Initial testimonies will come from members who are well known due to being in the group a long time. We will be inviting new people to come forward to us as we go - but as we have 70+ members, we have lots of reliable testimony on hand already - mostly unheard in any venue to date.

  • We will accept testimony of any kind about coercion in pregnancy or coercion afterwards in adoption proceedings - no matter where or when it happened: psychiatric institutions, hospitals, family homes, live-in type residential homes, etc.

  • Witnesses will be speaking either from home comfort by phone, or in studio. Speaking to other mothers in empathetic setting, will we think be empowering for them, and for the whole group. We've raised each others consciousness and helped each other to heal. There are tens of thousands of others who will be drawn "out" to speak of what they underwent. We feel these pioneering mothers will help those coming after.

REACTION TO MINISTER'S COMMENTS ON 2nd INTERIM REPORT

Irish First Mothers is shocked to find that the deliberations of the second interim report into Mother and Baby Homes omits to reference the welfare of mothers.

Some of the mothers who have appeared before the Commission have ended up in hospital due in part to their unsympathetic treatment at the hands of the Commission.

These difficulties have been well detailed in a report by Conor Lally in the Irish Times, and last month caused the mothers to suspend cooperation with the Commission.

Nevertheless, the Commission and the Minister refer only to the smaller number of persons who spent time as infants in institutions -omitting to address the primary substantive body of affected persons.

Minister Zappone has met all relevant groups since assuming her responsibilities. She never met with Irish First Mothers. Her resulting failure to address our issues -shocking as it is- is therefore unsurprising.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I was Ann Lovett's Boyfrined

By -
Image
I was Ann Lovett’s boyfriend Ann Lovett died aged 15 in 1984 after giving birth at a grotto in Granard, Co Longford – a tragedy that continues to resonate. Today, Ann’s former boyfriend Ricky McDonnell speaks publicly for the first time 5th May, 2018 Rosita Boland 20 Images Video Richard “Ricky” McDonnell: “At the beginning I was silent out of fear, and then it was out of respect.” Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons/The Irish Times Richard “Ricky” McDonnell is standing at the gate, staring at a house on Colmcille Terrace, Granard, Co Longford. There was a time, 34 years ago, when he knew this house inside out. It was here he had lived from the age of six to 17 – including several years on his own – until he had to leave. It was here he had spent many hours with his former girlfriend Ann Lovett, who died aged 15 after giving birth at the grotto in the town on January 31st, 1984. It was here, on that January day, Ricky McDonnell’s life changed u
Read more

First Mothers Lays Formal Genocide Charges Against Irish State

By -
Image
By Kathy McMahon   ​ 4th April, 2017 -  Following correspondence to our group from the Irish Attorney General , Irish First Mothers has today  ​replied to the AG  laying  ​​formal charges of genocide against the Irish State on behalf of around 70 mothers formerly resident in Mother and Baby homes. We have also written requesting  the Presidency of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to engage with Ireland on this issue, on an informal and voluntary basis. Ou r claim under Ireland's International  Criminal Court  Act of 2006 , alleges crimes of  genocide and failure to prevent genocide  by the Irish State in respect of its historical treatment of unmarried mothers. Specifically we assert that our sequestration in State-sanctioned religious homes and the subsequent coercive adoption of our children violated two signature genocide criteria enshrined in Irish law: grievous mental harm and forced transfer of children. In support of our claim to the Attorney Gene
Read more

Memorial Celebrating Mother And Child Bond Unveiled In Victoria

By -
Image
Front: Brenda Coughlan , Spokesperson for Independent Regional Mothers. Rear: Former Deputy Premier of Victoria, Peter Ryan ; Former Premier of Victoria, Ted Ballieu ; Hon. Darren Chester , a Commonwealth Minister representing Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. In Victoria Park , Sale, Victoria, Australia . 17th March VICTORIA - Leading Victoria lawmakers gathered in Sale, Victoria today to celebrate with mother's rights campaigner Brenda Coughlan, at the Victoria Park unveiling of a statue honoring the special bond between mother and child. Former Premier of Victoria, Ted Ballieu and Former Deputy Premier of Victoria, Peter Ryan attended as  Hon. Darren Chester, a Commonwealth Minister representing Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and  Ms. Coughlan, a spokesperson for Independent Regional Mothers , jointly unveiled the statue by Andrew Poppleton entitled "Mother and Child – Cherished". The event follows on from national and state leve
Read more