🧵1/4 I was born in #Bessboro a #MotherandBabyHome in the 70’s. I am a direct survivor of these cruel ‘homes’. I am also a survivor of #CSA as I was adopted by a woman who had a #paedophile father. My grandfather was a ‘pillar of the community’, to me he was pure evil!

🧵1/6 I was born in #Bessboro in the early 70’s. A baby with dark hair & brown eyes had been ordered by a couple. I fit the bill. At 7 weeks old I was placed with the couple. My adoptive mother was a cold, unloving woman, I was bought to complete the ‘family’.

🧵1/6 In October 2025 I on behalf of myself & @danielmloftus met with Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy & Seamus McGrath TD & with a proposal for an independent investigation of the remaining 60 acres at #Bessborough Our stance has always been about finding the missing babies.

Irish Examiner@irishexaminer.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🧵1/4 In Nov I forwarded my podcasts to Dr.Andy Phillips of @HSE South West & requested a meeting to discuss the unacceptable delay in implementing Mandatory #TraumaInformed Healthcare. Part One — open.spotify.com/episode/2A6fsx… Part Two ��� open.spotify.com/episode/3T6iPd��Pd…

For those who struggled during 2025, we did it! We got through yet another year, it was tough, but we fought hard & we are here to welcome 2026! Remember you are a warrior, you are enough & you should be so proud of yourself 😘 Wishing everyone a calm #NewYear2026

🧵1/4 The hardest part of recording these #podcasts was the aftermath. I’ve been very open about my experience of #CSA here but I rarely talk about my experience of #DomesticAbuse Part One — open.spotify.com/episode/2A6f... Part Two — open.spotify.com/episode/3T6i...

Episode 14 Part 1: Breda: A Childhood Stolen - One Woman’s Story of Sexual Abuse and Survival

open.spotify.com

Almost a third of the population of Ireland have experienced #ChildSexualAbuse yet our healthcare system has no Mandatory Trauma Informed Treatment Model Podcast Part 2 explains why an uneducated system is unacceptable @hselive.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/3T6i...

Episode 14 Part 2: Breda: A Childhood Stolen - One Women's Story Of Sexual Abuse and Survival

open.spotify.com

Latest news! 📚 Frank Brehany is thrilled to announce the launch of the paperback edition of his book 'A Magdalene Rose' today! Discover this true story & grab your paperback edition copy now through Frank Brehany's Booksby Bookshop! 🌹 Read more: wix.to/iQlLUil #AMagdaleneRose #BookLaunch #AuthorLife

Press Release: Author of 'A Magdalene Rose' announces the launch of his paperback edition

The author of 'A Magdalene Rose', Frank Brehany, is very pleased to announce the launch of the paperback edition of his book today.

wix.to

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR). We honour the memory of those who have been murdered due to transphobia and to raise awareness about the ongoing violence and discrimination faced by the transgender community. #TDoR

Trigger warning ‼️ This is Part 1 of a podcast I did. This is my life story #Adoptee #CSA #DomesticAbuse open.spotify.com/episode/2A6f...

Episode 14 Part 1: Breda: A Childhood Stolen - One Woman’s Story of Sexual Abuse and Survival

open.spotify.com

Today is #AdopteeRemembranceDay A day to remember adoptees who’ve died by suicide, endured abuse, those who suffer unseen battles & those who suffer adoption trauma. Today is my Day! #CSA #Adoptees deserve to be seen & heard every day, not just today!

🧵1/4 I’ve mulled over whether to clarify a situation for almost a month now. An advocate for #Bessboro intentionally ‘outed’ my identity on a private FB group, they vindictively mentioned a Campaign that my twitter profile was attached to.

Honoured to be included alongside Ted Steede in (Below) this piece. Cousins should have been included no matter the difficulty (for what the DCEDIY are claiming) — better to have the sample then do some good ol’ DNA research to find out how they’re related, right? Catch it here. ⬇️

The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · last yr.

Man (81) calls for family DNA samples for Tuam remains to extend to cousins

🧵1/4 A very honest & irate thread! Unless you are a survivor of #abuse/#rape you can not comprehend the lifelong #trauma The day I was 1st raped at 8 years of age the ‘person I was meant to be’ was murdered. My whole life has been a constant battle to just exist!

RTÉ News@news.rte.ie · last yr.

A 47-year old man has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail for the rape and sexual assault of his sister

According to Institutional Burials Act 2022, Section 8, which refers to ‘Manifestly Inappropriate Burials’ all of the highlighted subsections apply to #Bessboro The government is not above the law. The government must be compelled to act #Justice #TheForgottenDead

The 17 named below died in #Bessboro, this contradicts the findings of the Commission in relation to this plot! There is no headstone, no maintenance of the plot & therefore until now they were the #ForgottenDead.

Daniel Loftus@danielloftus.projectinfant.ie · last yr.

The plot is poorly kept, with the only two 'monuments', a broken plaque for Julia O'Donoghue in May 1984 & a metal cross with the wrong name inscribed: Doris Walsh instead of Ann Walsh in January 1985. Below are 13 women & 4 children from Bessborough that are buried in the plot.

🧵1/3 I recently had a lengthy meeting with the Curators of the proposed National Centre for Research & Remembrance. As an adult #adoptee who is excluded from financial #redress I tried to convey the importance of the #NCRR representing each survivors experience.

🧵1/4 On Sunday 29th June I will attend the annual #Bessboro Commemoration. In 2017 I discovered I was born there, I was handed over to my adoptive parents at 7 weeks old. Despite having a loving father my childhood was marred by a detached & controlling mother

1 of the #podcasts in Dr.Fiona Barry’s #Taboo series. These are a must listen. Brilliantly informative & an absolute eye opener. open.spotify.com/episode/4NHQ...

Episode 2. Margo Noonan: Raising Awareness - The Many Faces of Sexual Abuse

TABOO · Episode

open.spotify.com

New Post - The post I’m not supposed to write – how we are silencing victims

The post I'm not supposed to write - how we are silencing victims

We blame the very people who have suffered the most for upsetting the nice little world we've made up in our heads, and we dare to talk about that being about safety. 

buff.ly

It was lovely to participate in the laying of dolls for The Babog Project today in Cork. Every doll represents a baby that died in the Mother&Baby Institutions made& remembered with love. The project is winding down now and people were invited to take away a doll if they wished. #MotherAndBabyHomes

With the Tuam exhumation due to begin in mid-June, these are the over 800 most important people at the centre of this. Found by Catherine Corless and shared with the world in 2014, it's taken 11 years to get to this stage. #MotherAndBabyHomes (Red = mothers) [Accessible file version, see post 2]

So deeply saddened... the Great Great Sebastião Salgado died today. A genius photographer, eclipsed only by his compassion and dedication to humanity. He inspired generations; he inspired me to be a better photographer, and person... "Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine"...

The work to begin the process of retrieving the remains of 796 children that were placed in a disused sewage system in the #MotherAndBabyHome in #Tuam is very welcomed although it should have been done years ago. However, #BESSBORO has 859 missing children. Where is their Investigation? 1/3

Come & join us at our 11th #Bessboro Commemoration on the grounds of Bessborough on the 29th June @ 2pm

We're delighted to share that Project Infant has recorded the deaths of 231 [2] women and [229] children who died between 1920 and 1964 in the Protestant-run Bethany Home to our website. You can view the names here: projectinfant.ie/bethany #MotherAndBabyHomes

The only papal news I want to hear is that the Catholic Church has liquidated all its assets and is using the money to compensate abuse victims.

The theme to this year’s #Bessboro Commemoration is #UnsungHeroes. We lost some wonderful advocates in the last 6 months. People that paved the way for equality for adopted people & others who risked all to help girls escape the institution. 29th June @ 2pm

www.itv.com/news/2025-05... #PregnantFromIreland PFI #ForcedAdoption #CatholicChurch #MotherAndBabyHomes

This is only a partial list of historical deaths. These women and babies died in custody decades ago—forgotten by the system, erased by history. Their deaths weren’t isolated; they raise concerns about systemic neglect and mistreatment. #PrisonDeaths andrewmercerreformatory.org/deaths/