A new book by Rita McCarthy, called Forgotten Lives – The Story of the County Clare Mother and Baby Home Known as the County Nursery, 1922–1932, is published on August 21st by Banner Books.
There is an open invitation to the book launch in the Local Studies Centre in Ennis library at 6pm on August 21st.
This book is an important addition not only to the local history texts but also to those for the social and political history of Ireland in its early years as a new state and beyond.
In 1922, the County Clare Nursery, a state-supported mother and baby home for County Clare, was opened in part of Kilrush Workhouse. For the ten years of its existence it was owned and funded by Clare County Council. For the first six years it was managed by the Sisters of Mercy and thereafter by lay staff.
Rita McCarthy, a social historian, extensively researched original archives, newspaper reports and oral histories to recount the story of this unique institution, placing it in the historical context of how unmarried mothers and illegitimate children were treated in Irish society. Conditions in the Nursery were inhumane and the death rate of babies was described by the doctor in charge as ‘appalling’. Yet this is also a story of good people trying to do their best to help the women and children.
McCarthy offers an insight into the characters of the women from all parts of County Clare who spent time in the institution. Interviews with a survivor and descendants of some of the women recount life after the County Nursery.
This book ensures that the County Clare mother and baby home, and the women and children who were unfortunate enough to spend time within its walls, will not be forgotten.
Forgotten Lives is for sale in Banner Books, Ennistymon and Kilrush, on their website, and in shops around the county and beyond.