Dr Claire McGettrick Born Lorraine Hughes
@cmcgettrick.bsky.social
870 followers 920 following 70 posts
🏳️‍🌈Bastard | Problematising adoption | Sociology | @adoptionrights | @maglaundries | @clann_project |🎸🎤| She/her | 🏳️‍⚧️☂️| Views Mine | RT/Follow ≠ endorsement. | www.criticaladoptiontheory.com
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cmcgettrick.bsky.social
ℹ️ If you’re affected by adoption in/from Ireland, and/or the Magdalene Laundries, Mother & Baby Homes and related ‘historical’ abuses, resources are available at: adoption.ie/help
A yellow question mark surrounded by lots of grey question marks
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
A reminder about the ethical protocols underpinning the work of the Magdalene Names Project & why we don’t publish lists of names.

If you’re seeking info about a deceased family member, or if you’re a survivor seeking evidence of your confinement, you’re welcome to contact us.
jfmresearch.bsky.social
JFMR has updated our Magdalene Names Project webpage. The update includes important information on our ethical protocols, and why (save for a small number of exceptions) the Names Project does not name women (living or deceased) on our website or in publications. jfmresearch.com/home/magdale...
Magdalene Names Project
ABOUT THE MAGDALENE NAMES PROJECT The Magdalene Names Project (MNP) is a JFM Research initiative which was established in 2003 in the context of the exhumations at High Park Magdalene Laundry. The …
jfmresearch.com
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
Lest anyone think that the work on the headstones was an indication of a Road to Damascus moment…
consumerfrank.bsky.social
I can confirm that despite the fact that I have been in correspondence with the order since 2019, along with the fact that they know I am seeking pertinent information, they have not contacted me. I shall reflect on their Press Release and provide comment in the coming days
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
9) In essence, the OLC press release raises more questions than answers & despite issuing a PR, the order remains as opaque as ever about its activities, which is of no assistance to families seeking truth & justice.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
8) Additionally, I note that the 1993 exhumations are conspicuous in their absence from OLC’s press release. Furthermore, the order does not specify whether their ‘review’ has examined the State mandated eye-witness record of the exhumations, or whether they’ve accounted for all 155 women.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
7) For a start, while OLC say they’ve identified ‘three more gravesites’, we’re aware of at least 9 further unmarked plots at Glasnevin where women from High Park & Sean McDermott St are buried.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
5) Using publicly available data we uncovered significant errors in JP’s research. Who carried out the OLC ‘review’ & will the order now acknowledge the flaws in JP’s work?

More importantly, will the State now establish an independent investigation into the HP exhumations?
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
4) Our analysis is impeded by the fact that the order refuses to open its records. An exception is Jacinta Prunty, whose flawed research on HP’s records was used by the McAleese Ctte to wrongly conclude that all 155 women exhumed in 1993 are accounted for. See Ch8 of: jfmresearch.com/books/irelan...
Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries: A Campaign for Justice
This book was written in response to Magdalene survivors’ appeal that the public know and learn from the abuses they experienced so that what happened to them can never be forgotten. It provides a …
jfmresearch.com
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
3) 🚨Whether the rectifications are accurate/adequate remains to be seen. It will take time to establish to what extent the issues we’ve been highlighting over the past 2 decades are resolved. This is slow, careful work. Accuracy & ethical considerations take priority over speed.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
2) Has OLC contacted relatives of women buried at Glasnevin, including @consumerfrank.bsky.social who has been seeking answers for years?

Has the State been informed, since previous research commissioned by the Order was used to shut down questions about HP? [See (4-5)👇]
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
1) We founded JFM in 2003 when we learned about anomalies at the High Park graves, exposed by Mary Raftery. 22 yrs later, the Srs of Our Lady of Charity (OLC) say they’ve rectified errors & omissions at their Glasnevin graves. A few initial observations:

goodshepherdsisters.ie/news-events/...?
Press Release – Good Shepherd Sisters
goodshepherdsisters.ie
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
2/2 The concern shouldn't be about an adoption agency's funding, but about the myriad reasons why it's still considered acceptable for children to be permanently removed from their family & country of origin as a 'solution' to temporary problems & in fulfilment of the wishes of adults.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
ℹ️ If you're having difficulty filling out the expression of interest PDF for representation on the National Centre for Research & Remembrance panels/Special Advocate's Advisory Council, there's a Word version of the form on this page that's not flagged in the dept's email: www.gov.ie/en/departmen...
Survivor Representation on Key Engagement Structures
www.gov.ie
Reposted by Dr Claire McGettrick Born Lorraine Hughes
clannproject.bsky.social
Clann Project statement re the Government’s recent call to survivors and affected people, encouraging them to apply for ‘representation opportunities’ on the National Centre for Research and Remembrance (NCRR) Steering Group and other panels clannproject.org/ncrr/
National Centre for Research and Remembrance
The Clann Project has repeatedly asked the State to ensure that survivors and affected people are represented on boards that govern matters directly affecting them. Therefore, Clann welcomes the Government's recent call to survivors and affected people, encouraging them to apply for 'representation opportunities' on the National Centre for Research and Remembrance (NCRR) Steering Group, the National Museum of Ireland's 'Lived Experience expert panels' for the NCRR, and the Special Advocate for Survivors Advisory Council.  If you are interested in applying to become a member of one or more of the above committees, you can find the Government's 'Expression of Interest Form' here. The application process will remain open until 19th September 2025. If you are unable to complete the form electronically and do not have access to a printer, we encourage you to contact the Department's 'Mother and Baby Institutions Action Plan Unit' at [email protected] and ask them to send you a printed copy. Clann also welcomes the Government's use of the term 'survivors and affected persons'. We advocate for the use of 'affected people' or 'survivors and affected people' in lieu of the term 'survivors' when referring to the overall cohort of people impacted by Ireland's system of forced family separation and institutionalisation, because we are concerned that use of the collective term ‘survivor’ runs the risk of: (i) reinforcing the false narrative that abuses were perpetrated in institutional settings only; (ii) excluding people who were not born in Mother and Baby or County institutions; (iii) excluding mothers who did not give birth in Mother and Baby or County institutions; and (iv) excluding people who do not identify as 'survivors'. Importantly, how a person identifies has no bearing on whether human rights violations occurred—institutionalisation and forced family separation are abusive regardless of a person's preferred terms. It is crucial to ensure that nobody is left behind and that everyone impacted by this system feels represented in matters directly affecting them. Finally, Clann is concerned that survivors and affected people are still not represented on other boards and committees, such as the steering group for the upcoming review of the Birth (Information and Tracing) Act, and the board of the Adoption Authority.
clannproject.org
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
5) Finally, I do not contend that 'affected people' is a perfect term & if anyone has a better suggestion I'm open to hearing it!

My motivation is to ensure that nobody is left behind, that everyone impacted by this system feels represented in matters directly affecting them.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
4) Importantly, how a person identifies has no bearing on whether human rights violations occurred—institutionalisation and forced family separation are abusive regardless of people's preferred terms.

ℹ️ See this Clann Project submission: clannproject.org/wp-content/u...
clannproject.org
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
3) Using the collective term ‘survivor’ also runs the risk of:

❌Excluding mothers who didn't give birth in Mother & Baby or County institutions;

❌Excluding people who do not identify as 'survivors'.
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
2) Amongst other things, using the collective term ‘survivor’ runs the risk of:

❌Reinforcing the false narrative that human rights abuses were perpetrated in institutional settings only;

❌Excluding people who were not born in Mother & Baby or County institutions;
cmcgettrick.bsky.social
1) I welcome the Dept's usage of the term 'affected persons' in its recent announcement👇

ℹ️Here's why I encourage the use of 'survivors and affected people' in lieu of 'survivors' when referring to people impacted by forced family separation & institutionalisation.
Reposted by Dr Claire McGettrick Born Lorraine Hughes
jfmresearch.bsky.social
JFM Research has made a submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála about the Proposed Property Developmentat the Site of the Former Magdalene Laundry at Sundays Well in Cork.

jfmresearch.com/wp-content/u...
A photo of the former Magdalene Laundry at Sundays Well in Cork. It's a large red brick building on high ground.