An Comisiún Pleanála upholds plans for 106–140 apartments at Cork’s Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, where over 900 infants died

Decision day

An Comisiún Pleanála gave the final go-ahead today for a housing development on the land of the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork. Cork City Council had originally approved Estuary View Enterprises’ plan for between 106 and 140 apartment units in February, but an appeal by survivor relatives and a local politician sent the matter to the national authority. The decision has been met with anger from the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group, whose member Carmell Cantwell labelled it “a dark day.”

A site of unimaginable loss

The Bessborough institution, run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, operated from 1922 until 1998/99. The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes estimated that over 900 children died there, yet only a small number of burial sites have been conclusively identified. Many infants’ remains are still unlocated, possibly scattered across the grounds. Campaigners have long insisted that any building work could permanently disturb evidence before all investigations are complete.

Divided survivors

The community is split. The Bessborough Support Group and Labour councillor Peter Horgan, who lodged the appeal, say the planning permission is “wrong.” On the other side, the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance, which includes women who gave birth in the institution, backs the development after meetings with the builder. They believe the memorial and on-site cafe will make the area safer for mothers coming to visit the children’s burial ground.

The families who move in to these homes will make it safer for mothers to visit the children’s burial ground. The cafe will provide rest and refreshment and the memorial area will create a space for all to reflect on the institutionalisation and loss experienced by mothers and the babies born there.

Calls for state purchase

Despite the rift, both groups demand that the government step in with a Compulsory Purchase Order to secure the burial ground. They fear that without state intervention, further planning applications could eat into land where undocumented graves may lie.

We urge the state to intervene to CPO and secure the children’s burial ground for the still living mothers whose babies are buried there. This needs to be done immediately before another planning application is made.