Fintan Dunne:

THE UNITED NATION’S committee on human rights has told Ireland it is concerned at the lack of " prompt, independent, thorough and effective investigations into all allegations of abuse, mistreatment or neglect " in Magdalene Laundries and mother and baby homes. In its concluding observations to a review,  published today , the committee said it " regrets the failure to identify all perpetrators of the violations that occurred [and] the low number of prosecutions... " The Committee said: "[Ireland should] conduct prompt, independent and thorough investigation into all allegations of abuse in Magdalene Laundries, children’s institutions and mother and baby homes ; [and] prosecute and punish the perpetrators with penalties commensurate with the gravity of the offence ..."  The human rights watchdog also rejected the general basis of Ireland's previous inquiries into symphysiotomy and the Magdalene homes - including the system of ex-gratia, no-fau...

Professor Sir Nigel Rodley United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 20 July, 2014 Professor Rodley, We are a group, scores in number of Irish mothers who gave birth in circumstances of exclusion and coercion within religious homes, state homes and other ad hoc facilities.  We share and support each other in a Facebook group . We have met with Irish government ministers north and south as part of their public consultations regarding so-called "mother and baby homes". We write to alert you and committee members that we rebut [see below]  many specific claims made by the Irish government when responding to your committee 's recent questions put to it. We write to alert you that the planned unwed mothers and babies inquiry is taking the same shape as have previous "inquiries" - with the same defects you and the committee members have already identified in previous inquiries. We urge you to note these reservations in your concluding remarks in...

Boycott Ireland's Fake "Dead Babies" Inquiry  July 17th, 2014 The Irish government just did a u-turn on the road to an effective judicial inquiry into practices which led to the uncovering of one likely mass grave of infants. International media pressure had impelled the June 4th, 2014 announcement by the government that they would consult widely, form firm terms of reference and then launch a robust statutory inquiry. For a while, the administration's resolve seemed genuine, but announcements in the last 48 hours evidence a shambolic travesty. Just days ahead of the planned announcement of the inquiry terms of reference, government 'leaks' to media began hinting that final terms of reference would be deferred to autumn. That means the consultative process was a sham. What gave that process credibility was the assurance that even as consultation progressed, the relevant civil servants were burning midnight oil to process this wide consultation a...

by Fintan Dunne , PRO Irish First Mothers group 15-July-2014 It may look like the TV studio for Monday's 'Tonight' show on Ireland's TV3 - with guest presenter, Tom McGurk. But it's really the locker room at a Dublin South-East 'rugger' club - where randomly-selected women are 'cows' and those who definitely don't want the 'leg over' are 'fekkin' lezzers'. It was 'sports journalist' night on Monday. McGurk was joined by fellow sports hack,  Eoghan Corry - with journo and documentary-maker, Yvonne Judge there to become the meat in their misogynist sandwich. McGurk should have know better than to ask a woman for her opinion. But, luckily he did know how to interrupt, belittle and ignore her reply. As did his foil, 'Sancho Panza' Corry. The duo batted the issue of the torture of women back and forth with gusto.  Earlier Monday, according to the Journal.ie, the 'Survivors of Symphysiotomy' ...

by Kathy McMahon  with Fintan Dunne Ireland, my native country, mobilized the State to illegally snatch my baby from me -and nothing can ever undo the damage inflicted on me and on tens of thousands of innocent Irish mothers. I was tried and fraudulently found guilty in the kangaroo courts of Catholic Ireland - and I was sentenced to have my own flesh and blood torn from me. Instead of helping me defend my parental rights, the Irish government and the Irish Catholic Church conspired to construct a sham legal process based on coerced consent in order to steal my child. But don't take my word for it. Take Michael Viney's word - word for word. My child was taken in 1974. Just ten years earlier, a  1964 article by Michael Viney of the Irish Times, details alleged " progress " made on adoption issues as justice minister, Mr C. J. Haughey steered that year's  version of the 1952 Adoption Act into law. (Aside: afterwards, the Irish Catholic Archbishop of...

News that between 1925 and 1961 around 800 deceased 'illegitimate' babies had been interred in a septic tank by Irish Catholic nuns, has by now swept around the world. But, back in Ireland, the quibbling has already begun. The Irish Times yesterday headlined " trouble with the septic tank story ", questioning the size of the tank where Tuam local, Barry Sweeney discovered skeletal infant remains, quoting Sweeny's estimate that the tank's concrete cover stone was "little bigger than his coffee table". Only about 20 babies were in the septic tank, it now seems. The balance of the 796 infants lie unmarked under the plain meadow around the tank. That's a mere 20 in the tank and 776 in the meadow. Had the figure been, say: over 100 in the tank, we might have had a real problem there. Within 45 minutes of that Irish Times report, one  Catholic apologist was greeting the clarification with glee, cheering that: " there is no way that you ...