11 episodes

Becky Milligan tells the story of how one woman, in her sixties, discovered a secret which lay beneath the ground of an old Mother and Baby Home in the west of Ireland. Standing up to the state, church and local opposition, she doggedly went on until she found out the truth. It is a moving and shocking story which sparked headlines around the world.

The Home Babies BBC Radio 4

    • News
    • 4.9 • 112 Ratings

Becky Milligan tells the story of how one woman, in her sixties, discovered a secret which lay beneath the ground of an old Mother and Baby Home in the west of Ireland. Standing up to the state, church and local opposition, she doggedly went on until she found out the truth. It is a moving and shocking story which sparked headlines around the world.

    The Home Babies: The End For Now

    The Home Babies: The End For Now

    Becky Milligan continues her series about a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam in the west of Ireland, and the work of amateur historian Catherine Corless. Catherine's discoveries prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into mother and baby homes across Ireland.
    In episode ten Becky meets a girl who was sent to one of the homes when she got pregnant. By sharing her story, we hear about the unbearable pain of giving up a baby, and how the girls felt being rejected by their family, society and the church.

    • 17 min
    The Home Babies: The State

    The Home Babies: The State

    Becky Milligan continues her series about a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam in the west of Ireland, and the work of amateur historian Catherine Corless. Catherine's discoveries prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into mother and baby homes across Ireland.
    In episode nine Becky tries to find out how much the state knew about what happened to the children who were born in the home.
    In 2012 a leaked briefing note between senior members of the Irish Health Service suggested that the trafficking of babies for adoption to America was “facilitated by doctors, social workers and other health professionals”.

    • 15 min
    The Home Babies: The Church

    The Home Babies: The Church

    Becky Milligan continues her series about a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam in the West of Ireland, and the work of amateur historian Catherine Corless. Catherine's discoveries prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into mother and baby homes across Ireland.
    In Episode Eight Becky tries to find out how the Catholic church responds to the story, and she meets a retired social worker, who served as a nun for 30 years, and a former priest. They describe how "the Church had more power than the State" prior to the 1970’s, and how the priests and nuns saw themselves as the “moral guardians of the community…that nobody questioned.”

    • 22 min
    The Home Babies: The Americans

    The Home Babies: The Americans

    Becky Milligan continues her series about a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam in the West of Ireland, and the work of amateur historian Catherine Corless. Catherine's discoveries prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into mother and baby homes across Ireland.
    In episode seven Becky hears from Michael who was adopted by a family in America "sight unseen" at the age of three. Despite being immersed in American suburban life and culture, as an adult he and his wife returned to Ireland to try and trace his birth mother.

    • 16 min
    The Home Babies: The Survivors

    The Home Babies: The Survivors

    Becky Milligan continues her series of reports about a former home for unmarried mothers in the West of Ireland and the work of an amateur historian Catherine Corless. Catherine's discoveries prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into mother and baby homes across Ireland.

    Episode six, Becky finds out what life has been like for two of those born in the Tuam home.

    • 15 min
    The Home Babies: Inside the home

    The Home Babies: Inside the home

    Becky Milligan continues her series about a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam, in the West of Ireland, and the work of amateur historian Catherine Corless.
    Catherine's discoveries prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into the institutions.
    In this fifth episode Becky takes us inside the old home when it was up and running between 1925 and 1961 and hears from previous residents.

    • 13 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
112 Ratings

112 Ratings

Fraggle Hugger ,

How easily we conform and the damage it can do.

Sensitively explored - a one sitting listen. Breathtakingly sad.

Beccahblue ,

Heartbreaking yet essential listening

How Becky managed to pull this together and keep her composure at all times is astounding, yet she does, and does so beautifully and sympathetically. This isn’t an easy listen but it’s testament to how history shouldn’t always just be accepted and left alone; that those still impacted by it need to be heard...really heard, that questions need to be answered, lessons about prejudices must be learned and some atrocities must never be forgotten lest they are repeated.

MarjJMTB ,

So thought provoking

Beautifully done podcast. The Catholic church have a lot to answer for.

Top Podcasts In News

The Rest Is Politics
Goalhanger Podcasts
The News Agents
Global
Leading
Goalhanger Podcasts
Black Box
The Guardian
The Story
The Times
Electoral Dysfunction
Sky News

You Might Also Like

Redacted Lives
The Journal
RedHanded
Wondery | RedHanded
British Scandal
Wondery
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Exactly Right Media – the original true crime comedy network
Southern Fried True Crime
Erica Kelley
Morbid
Morbid Network | Wondery

More by BBC

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley
BBC Radio 4
Newscast
BBC News
The Martin Lewis Podcast
BBC Radio 5 Live
You're Dead to Me
BBC Radio 4
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC Radio 4
Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 4