Rachel Fehily: Why are the experiences of people born, like me, in Temple Hill forgotten?
Blackrock
, Dublin, commonly known as St Patrick's Infant and Dietetic Hospital.
It is contested because there is a fundamental disagreement as to its historical purpose: there are two different retrospective interpretations of its function. To this day the Government insists that it was a hospital; but in reality,
it was an adoption home for infants and babies
.
It was stated in a
parliamentary question in the Dáil
by
Sinn Féin
TD Claire Kerrane last year that: 'Temple Hill does not qualify for supports, redress or recognition because it was a hospital, yet babies were adopted and paid for on foot of newspaper advertisements. Many children went to America. I have never heard of a hospital that does that.'
Despite the indisputable fact that many children were adopted from Temple Hill through the former adoption society St Patrick's Guild, and some were resident for lengthy periods of time, it is one of
at least four institutions
excluded from the Mother and Baby Institutions payment scheme as it was not on the initial list of homes investigated by the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. The fact that
it was not an institution within the meaning of the terms of the commission
and no mothers resided there with their babies (apparently they were taken from them at the door) kept it out of its terms of reference.
READ MORE
I am not seeking a payment under the scheme or looking for redress personally, because I left Temple Hill with my adoptive parents at the age of three months. I was fortunate to grow up with six siblings – five adopted, also from the same location – in a stimulating and supportive environment, but I am advocating for people who have been left out.
The
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
has stated that the official commission report was flawed because many institutions were excluded. Its remit was too narrow.
In an 'alternative report', a team including survivors, activists and eminent academics wrote that its 'text excluded significant cohorts of affected people' and that 'it is regrettable that the Commission did not request to modify its terms of reference to permit deep engagement with a wider range of organisations'.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality
Norma Foley
will have a chance to review the operation of the scheme within six months of its second anniversary, by September 2026.
Many of the now-ageing adults who were resident and abused in institutions and identify themselves as 'survivors' in need of the supports offered by the scheme are currently left in limbo.
I had the pleasure of meeting the Irish artist Bernard Canavan, a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award for his contribution to Irish culture in the UK at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London.
He recently held an exhibition at The United Arts Club in Dublin entitled Theocracy. His paintings represent the trauma that he and others endured in institutions. He was a long-term resident of the same Temple Hill in Blackrock, more than 25 years before me.
Despite evidence of his abuse, neglect, lengthy period of residency at Temple Hill, and his advanced age, he is excluded from the payment scheme because of 'contested' definitions.
The
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
(NCCA) has set up a comprehensive curriculum resource on 'mother and baby homes' for the Junior Cycle. It developed it in collaboration with groups involved in advocating for survivors of 'historic' institutions. This is an important and worthwhile initiative.
The list of related literature for the English curriculum is comprehensive and impressive, including the novel Small Things Like These by
Claire Keegan
and the play An Trial by Máiréad Ní Ghráda. The curriculum has input from many survivors and is all the better for it. However, the framing of the curriculum comes directly from the NCCA, a statutory body of the Department of Education.
At the launch, Minister for Education
Helen McEntee
said: 'It is vital that our young people learn about the history of this State in every aspect, and in order to provide this teaching and learning, teachers must be supported with resources such as this one.'
One of the resources for Junior Cycle teachers - a series of slides, maps, a list of the homes included in the Commission's report - omits the contested homes.
Much of the lengthy reading list that goes with the teacher supports comprises 'official' reports. Searching through the voluminous reading list, I eventually found an alternative '
List of Institutions, Agencies and Personnel Involved in Separating Unmarried Mothers from their Children
.' It is collated by Claire McGettrick and the Justice for Magdalenes Research and Adoption Rights Alliance. The database includes St Patrick's Infant Dietetic Hospital (aka Temple Hill).
It is vital that students understand how our Government and legal system operates to include and exclude people from access to justice. These nuances matter. If school children are taught to think critically they might be driven to question as to whether their history curriculum is in fact 'history' or 'current affairs'?
In Fintan O'Toole's
excellent recent article on the excavation of the Tuam site
, he writes that: 'This is making history in a double sense – doing something that has never been done before while simultaneously reshaping a country's understanding of its own recent past. And, hopefully, of its present.'
It seems ironic that the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has been removed from the Senior Cycle curriculum for 2026 by the Department of Education, while Greta Gerwig's film Barbie has been deemed worthy of inclusion.
Leaving Certificate students won't have to read
George Orwell's
text or consider one of its most memorable lines: 'Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.' But they will have a chance to consider this dialogue by Weird Barbie: 'That Ken of yours, he is one nice looking little protein pot … I'd like to see what kind of nude blob he's packing under those jeans.'
Rachel Fehily is a barrister, lecturer in literature and justice at UCD and is
engaged in interdisciplinary creative-based doctoral studies supported by Research Ireland
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
15 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Nursing Homes: Hiqa tells PAC it may step up its out-of-hours inspections
The country's nursing home watchdog is to consider upping the number of out-of-hours inspections it carries out across the sector, the Dáil's public accounts committee has heard. Finbarr Colfer, chief inspector designate at the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), said 24% of nursing home inspections were carried out outside normal working hours. 'It is one of the questions we are examining ourselves in relation to perhaps a more scheduled approach to 24/7 types of inspections,' he said. 'We're very conscious that the health services are operating on a 24/7 basis.' Mr Colfer made the comments amid questioning from Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly at PAC session on Thursday. Hiqa's appearance at the committee follows shocking revelations in an RTÉ Investigates documentary last month. The programme was focused on two nursing homes run by Emeis Ireland — The Residence in Portlaoise and Beneavin Manor in north Dublin. It details a litany of disturbing practices, including: A man being refused a toilet break for 25 minutes due to chronic understaffing; A resident repeatedly left in an unchanged incontinence pad despite being able to use the toilet and having requests to do so denied; 'Fake' activity logs showing residents engaged in pursuits that never occurred. Hiqa chief executive Angela Fitzgerald apologised to those affected by the practices at the nursing homes, adding the body is taking 'regulatory action' with the company operates the two sites. 'I was shocked and appalled and felt let down by the provider in terms of what I witnessed,' she said. Asked by Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan if she had ever seen anything worse than practices shown in the documentary, Ms Fitzgerald said she had not. However, Ms Fitzgerald said that, during inspections at the two nursing homes, Hiqa inspectors did not see any practices as shown on the RTÉ documentary. 'Failure of management and supervision' In total, it was confirmed 22 of the 25 Emeis Ireland-run nursing homes were inspected since the RTÉ documentary aired in June. Deputy chief inspector Susan Cliffe said the practices stemmed from 'a failure of management and supervision' at the Beneavin Manor nursing home. 'I think it was a failure to allow for the stress that was on the centre, the failure to recognise it,' Ms Cliffe said. 'There's three floors in that centre and there's three very different cultures on three different floors. The residents with the greatest level of need and the higher dependency were all accommodated on the one floor.' Asked by Mr Geoghegan if there had been any resignations, Ms Cliffe said a number of staff were no longer employed at Beneavin Manor. However, she added she was unaware of any resignations of more senior staff and managers at the nursing home. During the committee appearance, Ms Fitzgerald told TDs Hiqa is currently engaging with the Department of Health around strengthening existing regulations surrounding nursing homes. The committee also heard there has been one nursing home closure so far this year, with seven homes being closed in 2024. This is the highest figure in a number of years, with the closest being three closures in 2021 and 2023.
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
Playing county football through the pain of epidermolysis bullosa: ‘When I'd fall it would cause abrasions and blisters'
Ellie Ward has a rare and painful genetic condition known as 'butterfly skin', but there is nothing delicate about her performance as an inter-county GAA footballer. 'Ellie's a full back, which is probably the hardest position to play in Gaelic football and especially in ladies,' says Tony Doyle, her coach for seven years at An Clochán Liath club in northwest Co Donegal . 'She's very, very aggressive and very athletic.' The 19-year-old revealed to him only a few months ago that she lives with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), having been diagnosed at the age of three. Through her teenage years she has tried to hide that she has dominant dystrophic EB, which is generally a less severe form of what can be an extremely debilitating disease. Nonetheless, she has become accustomed to coping with pain. READ MORE 'I'm really lucky because my EB only affects my joints, so my elbows, knees and ankles,' she says. People with the condition lack the necessary proteins to bind layers of skin together, so friction, movement or trauma can cause it to break and blister. There is no cure for EB, so treatment is all about managing the symptoms. The middle child of three, Ward was a toddler when her parents started to become concerned about marked differences between her and her older brother Aaron. 'When I'd fall, or something like that, it would cause abrasions to my skin and blisters.' She was brought to a GP who, coincidentally, already had a child patient with EB on their books, so was quick to recognise the signs. The diagnosis was later confirmed in Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin hospital. Ellie had to have inherited the condition and her father was subsequently diagnosed with EB, along with some other extended family members. 'They'd kind of known for a long time that my dad's side of the family had a problem with their skin. They just weren't sure what it was. 'It didn't affect their life enough for them to have gone to a dermatologist about it. Until I was born – and I presented quite severely with the symptoms,' she says. Once her parents knew she had EB, 'they kind of wrapped me in bubble wrap' and she recalls having daily emollient baths because doctors were afraid the skin between her fingers and toes would fuse. Her parents encouraged her to take up non-contact activities, such as choir and Irish dancing. Ellie Ward on the grounds of her local club, An Clochan Liath, in Dungloe, Co Donegal. Photograph: Joe Dunne However, with Gaelic football being 'so prominent in our culture in west Donegal', and watching her older brother play, she was desperate to get involved. 'They couldn't really stop me and, at 11, I started playing for my local GAA club.' Ellie has gone on to play at under-age and minor level for Donegal and Doyle has no doubt she will make the senior team. Wearing football boots has posed the most problems for Ellie, irritating her ankles. However, it is not as bad as it was and she believes playing the sport has actually helped. After any fall during preteen years, her knees would be skinned or blisters would form. 'Over time I think my skin has adapted to being rough and ready for football. My ankles still do get blisters, but the skin doesn't completely come away any more, which is great because that did cause me a lot of pain. In a way, I think playing has really helped my skin.' Although, she is quick to acknowledge that many people would say that's insane. Ellie says her brother is 'doing amazing' and she is 'really proud of him'. Photograph: Joe Dunne Doyle reckons, EB apart, that most of the pain Ellie has endured on the football pitch is from knocks she picks up 'from being brave'. He learned about her condition only after she decided recently to do some fundraising for the EB charity Debra Ireland . She was also motivated to start talking about it by the brother coming up behind her, Oisín, aged 14, who has the same type of EB. 'I think this year I've kind of started embracing it more because my younger brother is coming into the age where I stopped accepting my EB.' Playing in the fullback line, where you are expected to be tough and strong, she says, 'I felt if other people knew of my condition that they would see it as a weakness. I would never ever talk about it.' She hid cuts and other skin problems even from her parents. 'If I was to get a cut or something, I would just let it scab over itself. I wouldn't put plasters on it or anything, which is really bad looking back.' When schoolfriends expressed alarm at the state of her ankles, 'I would say that it was from football. I never mentioned that it was anything to do with my skin. Because I didn't want to feel different.' She was self-conscious of the purple colour over her ankles and knees in the sun. 'I used to try to cover it with concealer and stuff, which probably made it more prominent in a way.' Ellie Ward taking part in an abseil challenge from the roof of Croke Park Ellie realises now how resilient she has become through coping with EB and is keen to show Oisín and others that it is 'a superpower, not a setback'. He was diagnosed aged one, after having more obvious symptoms than her – bad, itchy eczema, extensive nappy rashes and irritations around the seams of his clothes. Yet, he has been playing GAA football since the age of five 'and there's no stopping him', his big sister says. 'His skin has become more resilient as well and his scarring is nowhere near as bad as mine. He does still have the scarring on his joints and stuff, but he's doing amazing and I'm really, really proud of him.' Ellie, who last month took to the roof of Croke Park to abseil down from the scoreboard, says fundraising for research and treatments by Debra Ireland 'is massively important'. With EB being hereditary, there's a distinct possibility that future members of her family will be affected. Awareness-raising is a huge part of Debra's work because, as its CEO Jimmy Fearon says: 'With no awareness there is no funding. With no funding there is no research. With no research there is no cure. And without a cure, there is no hope.' Lack of awareness even within the healthcare community delays diagnosis in many cases, says Alejandra Livschitz, head of communications with Debra, a 32-county organisation. 'It's very obvious when a baby's born with a severe form because it would come out of the womb extremely blistered,' she says. But in less severe cases, childhood symptoms may be put down to 'fragile skin' and diagnosis not made until adulthood. Actor Colin Farrell with Emma Fogarty during the Dublin Marathon. Photograph: Louise Walsh Emma Fogarty, who was on the Late Late Show with actor Colin Farrell last October, has such extreme EB that she was expected to die within days of her birth. Farrell ran the Dublin city marathon to celebrate her 'miracle' 40th birthday and to raise funds for Debra. The two EB specialist centres are Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin for children and St James's Hospital for adults, but transition of care from the former to the latter can be problematic for patients, according to Livschitz, as is access to appropriate local health services. Livschitz says lack of awareness among community services such as GPs, dentists and public health nurses are among the challenges people with EB face. Also, the condition is not covered by the long-term illness scheme, so the costs of specialist creams and bandages can be a significant cost for those without a medical card. Ellie is studying physiotherapy at Atlantic Technological University in Letterkenny, on a Gaelic football sports scholarship, and is concentrating for now on playing for college and club. Her interest in physio started in childhood, when she was given exercises to do to prevent the build-up of scar tissue immobilising her joints. 'If I was to get stepped on, or anything like that, on my ankles, it would cause blisters,' she explains. 'That would then cause a scar, which does happen quite a lot.' Ellie is also Dungloe's home entrant for this year's Mary from Dungloe International Arts Festival. Photograph: Joe Dunne She uses medical grade needles to pop the blisters and then covers the area with special plasters that won't pull off the skin when removed. However, she believes playing football has also helped to keep her joints mobile. Although Ellie's passion is Gaelic football, parental pushing towards the gentler pursuit of choir also paid off. Having been chosen last February as Dungloe's home entrant for this year's Mary from Dungloe International Arts Festival (July 26th to August 4th), she hopes her singing voice might help land her the crown. Who is affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)? 1 in 18,000 babies born here are affected by this rare, genetic condition 300 is the estimated number of people in Ireland living with EB 50% chance a child will be born with EB if one parent has the condition; that's called dominant inheritance 1 in 4 chance of a child having the condition when both parents carry one gene for EB; that's recessive inheritance There are four types of EB 70% of people with the condition have milder forms than the 30% of those with a severe type
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Doctor who ‘repeated mantra-like claims in court of Garda surveillance' is suspended
The president of the High Court has suspended a doctor from practising over concerns about his mental health, his 'unusual behaviour' and complaints about his clinical practice. Mr Justice David Barniville said he was very concerned about the man's mental health after witnessing him in court. This included, the judge said, 'repeated, constant and almost mantra-like references' to being under surveillance by the gardaí since around 2010 and repeated references to the woman Garda detective allegedly involved in the surveillance and who, in view of the doctor, was constantly involved in actions intended to damage him. The judge was satisfied the Medical Council had legitimate and reasonable concerns for the public if the doctor, who qualified in Pakistan and has practised in Ireland for 35 years, was permitted to continue to practice. READ MORE The suspension applies pending the doctor's completion of certain supervisory and medical requirements and pending further court order. He has rejected all the claims made against him and says there has been a conspiracy against him by his former wife, the detective garda and others. A psychiatrist assessed him as suffering from a 'relevant medical disability' that was a 'persistent delusional disorder of persecutory type'. The psychiatrist believed that as the doctor's medical disability had not affected, to date, his fitness to work, he should be allowed to continue to work under conditions including supportive health services. The doctor has refused to accept the psychiatrist's opinion and was not so far prepared to agree to the conditions, the judge said. In those circumstances, Mr Justice Barniville granted an order sought by the Medical Council suspending the doctor. The judge said the case arose after the directors of an out-of-hours general practitioner service, which the doctor worked at for a number of years until October 2024, contacted the Medical Council over his conduct. Difficulties included his interactions with patients, their carers and, at times, members of staff at the GP service. They referred to 'significant difficulties and challenges' in his life including a separation. He had claimed 'undercover gardaí [were] observing him' from within the service. Most complaints against him related to his poor manner in consultations, a peremptory approach to those for whom he was caring and an approach that 'intermittently appears clinically inadequate', particularly in relation to gynaecological issues. It was also alleged his notes were 'scant' and that evidence of reasonable examination was 'very limited'. There were two significant 'near misses' involving him, it was claimed. The doctor denied all those claims and said the psychiatrist's report should be rejected. The directors of the GP service did not want to make a complaint, but wanted it brought to the attention of the chief executive of the Medical Council, which itself decided to initiate the complaint processes. The judge also said the doctor alleged the garda detective was trying to prevent the Central Office of the High Court from issuing the proceedings he wanted to bring alleging the garda did various other things to damage him. The judge said it would not be appropriate for him on a suspension application to resolve conflicts of evidence or to make findings of fact. However, the doctor's refusal to accept there may be a problem and that his registration should be subject to conditions was sufficient to persuade the judge to make the suspension order, pending further court order.
