of the children adopted, who as adults today are still fighting for access to their own records.
“Tuam was not unique, similar homes operated freely around the country. However, the burials of 796 children in a septic tank as in Tuam is devastating to consider. Ireland has changed more in the last 10 years than it did in the previous 50 years or so in terms of social change. There has been a series of Commissions of Investigation over the last two decades into systemic abuse of children by the Catholic clergy and within institutional schools, as well as in the Magdalene Laun- dries. All these networks and institutions affected the lives of women, children and the most vulnerable in our society. This is a national reckoning with a shameful past that still needs to be processed. It is a trauma for all of us to bear.”
Permanent record
There are ongoing efforts to find out more about the children who were adopted and give them a better understanding of who they are and their backgrounds, But for many of those individuals directly affected by the scandal, there is still more to be done. One of the ways that trauma is being addressed is through the Tuam Mother and Child Home Oral History Pro- ject (
www.nuigalway.ie/tuam-oral-history). The Oral History Project is building a collection of survivor stories, and its website states the main aim is “to enable the survivors of the Tuam institution and their families to tell their own life stories, in the way that they want them to be told. In that regard, members of the project team will record and archive the histo- ries and life stories of survivors and their families, as well as the memories of others connected in any way with the institution or with those who spent time there.” The project also promises to:
l permanently preserve and maintain the recorded recollections of individuals in the Hardiman Library in NUI Galway along with relevant personal documents;
l provide access to this material for historical research/print or online publi- cation/lectures/education programmes and other legitimate academic purposes.
Survivors Teresa O’Sullivan, Peter Mulryan and Carmel Larkin.
Interviewees themselves will determine whether to make their testimonies available immediately or at some point in the future;
l to work with survivors to provide an artistic response to their stories.
Interviews with survivors are conducted by researcher Mary Cunningham, and Dr Houlihan says: “I then work closely with Mary on receiving the digital audio files and transcripts. A unique aspect of this project is also the archiving of digitised personal documents provided by survivors. These include personal and family photo- graphs, birth and marriage certificates of their parents, correspondence with local authorities and elected officials, social worker files and reports relating to the childhood experience of the survivors from when they were fostered or adopted. “My work entails the appraisal of all material received, cataloguing of all items, creation of metadata for each interview and linked files, and also clearing all and any legal requirements for each interview, such as personal data of survivors – like their date of birth or home address, but also instances of third parties’ data and those named within the interviews. I also then ingest all items onto our open access repository. It is a complex process but important for the integrity of the project
and for our relationship with survivors that they trust in the archival process.”
Warmth and strength
Dr Houlihan adds that the whole pro- cess has brought positives – not just to those telling their stories. “The project has been a truly unique experience,” says Dr Houlihan. “It can only exist through the openness and trust of survivors in giving us their personal testimony to preserve and make accessible online. For generations, the state have ignored their requests for help and for access to personal records. Recent State enquiries and mismanage- ment of records has not helped. That is why the support of survivors for this partnership with NUI Galway has been so rewarding. Their testimony is already being used within new theatre and writing work by our students, a cohort who were not born when the last Home closed.
Survivors Patrick Duffy, Christine Carroll and P. J. Haverty 48 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
“All survivors asked of us was that nothing in their words be changed and for their experiences to be listened to. They have created an archive that is unique in Ireland, and interna- tionally, and will inform the public and for future generations of all that happened in an Ireland that is not far removed from us today. Most of all, despite a deep trauma in their lives, the warmth and strength of all survivors comes through from this extraordinary archive. Their voice is important – it needs to be heard – and oral history is one way for an archive such as this to play a role in healing those pasts.” Dr Houlihan adds: “Working with students in the University on these projects is very rewarding. They have no real memory of THAT Ireland and have incredible empathy and care for the survivor’s stories and experiences.” IP
April-May 2021
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