Dealing with the legacy of 

Mother and Baby Institutions

We campaign and advocate for mixed race survivors of Irish institutions

The Mother and Baby Homes Campaign:


In July 2018 Rosemary Adaser (former CEO)and Conrad Bryan of AMRI were both appointed to the Collaborative Forum set up by the Minister for Children Katherine Zappone TD. This Collaborative Forum was set up to identify supports for former residents and survivors of the Mother and Baby Homes.

Conrad Bryan was appointed as Chair of the Health Sub-committee on this forum set up to establish health needs of survivors and make recommendations to the Government. The Recommendations of the Health sub-committee were announced by Minister Katherine Zappone in April 2019 ( see video below).

The health recommendations announced at a press conference attended by Conrad Bryan as Chair of the health sub-committee was a summarised version of our recommendations. Unfortunately, our full report, which explains the recommendations , was not released by the Government at the time. It was released in 2021 after the Commission released its final report in January 2021.   


Dominic Hannigan TD discusses the mixed race Irish group and its four co-founders in the debate on the investigation into Mother and Baby homes announced in January 2015.

Maureen O'Sullivan TD  discusses the mixed race Irish campaign at the debate on Mother and Baby homes Investigation at the Dail in January 2015, saying that they were please to meet the Minister.

 Following the revelations in 2014 of a mass grave at the Bon Secours mother and baby site in Tuam Galway the government set up a commission of enquiry to investigate mother and baby homes across Ireland. The mixed race group actively lobbied the Irish Government to investigate the treatment of mixed race children in mother and baby homes. Carole Brennan, Rosemary Adaser and Conrad Bryan met with the Minister for Children James Reilly TD supported by Maureen O'Sullivan TD to discuss our particular issues.

We had carried out a limited research on our community ourselves but we needed a fuller investigation to really get a better understanding of what really happened to mixed race children in these institutions and the numbers that passed through the system. 

On 9 January 2019, it was announced that, for the first time in Irish history, the issue of race would be looked at as part of a Commission of Investigation. Judge Yvonne Murphy was now required under law to identify cases of race discrimination against mixed race children who resided within the 14 Mother and Baby Homes across Ireland. This announcement was a good day for our campaign and most survivors who attended an emotional private meeting with Dr Reilly after his press briefing.

Below, Conrad Bryan speaking with media in Dublin following the announcement my Minister James Reilly that systemic racism will be investigated by the Commission of investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.

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