The Home Babies

BBC Radio 4
  • 5.0 (5)
  • NEWS

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.

Episodes

  1. 07/27/2018

    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

  2. 07/20/2018

    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”.

    16 min

  3. 07/13/2018

    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

  4. 07/09/2018

    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.

    17 min

  5. 06/29/2018

    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

  6. 06/22/2018

    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.

    14 min

  7. 06/21/2018

    The Home Babies: The Grave

    Becky Milligan continues her series of reports about a former mother and baby home for unmarried mothers in the town of Tuam in the west of Ireland. Amateur historian Catherine Corless is sometimes called the Erin Brockovich of Ireland. Her discovery of 800 babies buried in a mass grave in the grounds of that former home has prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into those institutions. In this episode, we hear about the excavation of the site.

    17 min

  8. 06/21/2018

    The Home Babies: The Amateur Historian

    Becky Milligan continues her series of reports about a former mother and baby home for unmarried mothers in the town of Tuam in the west of Ireland. Amateur historian Catherine Corless is sometimes called the Erin Brockovich of Ireland. Her discovery of 800 babies buried in a mass grave in the grounds of that former home has prompted the Irish Government to begin an investigation into those institutions. For Radio 4's PM programme, Becky tells her story.

    19 min

  9. 06/21/2018

    The Home Babies: The Bones

    This is a story about the work of an amateur historian Catherine Corless, who uncovered a mass grave of babies buried in the grounds of a former home for unmarried mothers in the town of Tuam, Ireland. Her discoveries prompted the Irish government to begin an investigation in the church-run institutions. In the second episode of The Home Babies for Radio 4's PM programme, Becky Milligan takes us back to the 1970s.

    14 min

  10. 06/16/2018

    The Home Babies: The Wall

    Catherine Corless is an amateur historian. She has been called the Erin Brockovich of Ireland, after uncovering the story of an unmarked grave of nearly 800 infants at a former institution for unmarried mothers. Her work prompted the Irish government to open an investigation into mother and baby homes. For Radio 4's PM programme reporter Becky Milligan has been hearing the story of one home, and the woman who found out the truth.

    15 min

  11. 06/15/2018

    Welcome to The Home Babies

    Subscribe now for the secret story of an old mother and baby home in the west of Ireland.

    1 min
  • 11 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2018
  • Show Website
    The Home Babies