Since I started researching family trees as a hobby a few years ago I have come across and saved thousands of photos from everything and anything related to Dublin and its peoples way of life going back centuries. I have printed saved and dozens of pages of information relating to our social history which I find come in handy for reference. The info on these pages I keep range from lists of Citizen army members during 1916, to names and addresss of Hackney cab drivers back in the 1800s..if I think it might come in handy I will stick the printer on throw a few sheets of paper into the printer and away we go, ye might say im hungry to learn, or im a hoarder of useless info, depending on your opinion. I try not let the Info I come across really upset me because I think it was just the times people lived in ...for example I was researching a family a while back that in 1798 involved a young Dublin woman been sentenced to death for stealing from a shop...the shock involved was that the Judge ruled she wasnt to be executed until she had given birth to an unborn child..(that did shock me, but I was glad to later learn that she was probably sent to the colonies,and thought at least she had a chance f survival) Later I carried out research on another family who it seemed in the mid 1800s every year for about 6 years, buried at least 2-3 young children..but as I said it wasnt uncommon but holding their death certs did hammer it home how hard those times were. The other night I was looking up some Info and what I found and read really shook and saddened me,so much so I cant get my head around how it could have happened in the 20th Century even in a so called civilised, religious country as Ireland. I was looking up an address for a Bethany Home and stumbled across a list of names- ages and causes of death of the 222 children and babies who were secretly buried in Mt Jerome between 1922 and 1949..(2nd photo of memorial in Mt Jerome to those children) When I read the causes of death of the majority of those children I was sick to my stomach and just couldnt get my head around it.. The first babys name I read was 2 months old, the 2nd was 6 months old ...the cause of death was Marasmus something I had to Google to find out what it actually meant. Marasums=Severe lack of Nutrients, tissue and Muscle wasting. As I read down through the lists of names the cause of death given was Masumus and Convulsions in dozens of cases. So I looked into the story a little deeper, I couldnt understand how these babies could have died without somebody stepping in or taking action..I learned that the Bethany homes were for Protestant Girls/Women remanded by the Courts in a lot of cases, How was action not taken when it turns out the Home was visited by the Dept of Health on a regular basis, but the reason behind the visits was to make sure that No Catholic Girls/Women were been held there..??? I thought twice about posting this info, but then thought these kids and their Mothers deserve more than a memorial in a corner of a graveyard...Catholic caring Ireland my arse, we have nothing to be proud of and I hope those that let those children and their Mothers suffer in such a way are rotting in Hell.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 23:47:57 +0000
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