Clare Fm - Podcasts

A dark chapter in Clare’s past is the focus of a new book by social historian Rita McCarthy. ‘Forgotten Lives – The Story of the County Clare Mother and Baby Home, 1922–1932’ tells the story of the institution known as the County Nursery, which operated for ten years in part of the old Kilrush Workhouse. Run first by the Sisters of Mercy and later by lay staff, the home was described by one Clare County Councillor at the time as “a disgrace to the twentieth century”. Babies died at what the medical officer called “an appalling rate”, while women and children endured harsh and inhumane conditions. Drawing on archives, oral histories and survivor testimony, McCarthy brings to light the lived experiences of those who passed through its doors. The book will be launched at the De Valera Library in Ennis on 21 August, by Professor Bernadette Whelan of UL. To tell us more, Alan Morrissey was joined by the author herself, Rita McCarthy.