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Joan McDermott was 16 and fresh out of boarding school when she met her boyfriend Tony, a medical student, in their rural hometown in County Cork, Ireland. Together for about a year, they had sex twice. She fell pregnant.
âI honestly didnât know that was how you got a baby,â says Joan, now 73 and living in the small coastal town of Cobh in Cork. âWhen I told my mother I was three monthsâ pregnant, she said to go upstairs and pack a small bag; Iâd be going away. Then she stood in the hallway while I rang my boyfriend. His family ran a well-known local business; he said he was sorry but that he could do nothing for me.â
Up to 20,000 adoption files could relate to irregular birth registrations – report
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Expert hails Northern Ireland approach to baby homes investigation
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Northern Ireland’s approach to addressing the legacy of its mother and baby homes could be world-leading, an expert said.
A team of specialists will work with survivors of institutions for unwed mothers and their offspring and Magdalene laundries to help establish parameters for a fully independent investigation.
They include academics, human rights experts and a community worker and will report back to Stormont ministers within six months on drawing up terms of reference.
Team of experts who will work with victims and survivors of Mother and Baby and Magdalene Laundry Institutions to establish the terms of reference for independent investigation announced.