Irish government report ‘lifts lid on harsh and unforgiving attitudes towards unmarried mothers’ (Irish Catholic)

The 2,865-page report, dated October 30 and released January 12, examined state-funded institutions (including Catholic institutions) for unwed mothers. The report found that Irish women “who gave birth outside marriage were subject to particularly harsh treatment. Responsibility for that harsh treatment rests mainly with the fathers of their children and their own immediate families.” In addition, “in some years during the 1930s and 1940s, over 40% of ‘illegitimate’ children were dying before their first birthday in mother and baby homes.”