The Adoption Machine: The Dark History of Ireland's Mother and Baby Homes and the Inside Story of How 'Tuam 800' Became a Global Scandal

by Paul Jude Redmond, Clare Daly (Foreword)

May 2014, the Irish public woke to the horrific discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of almost 800 babies in the 'Angels' Plot' of Tuam's Mother and Baby Home. What followed would rock the last vestiges of Catholic Ireland, enrage an increasingly secularised nation, and lead to a Commission of Inquiry. In The Adoption Machine , Paul Jude Redmond, Chairperson of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Homes Survivors, who himself was born in the Castlepollard Home, candidly reveals the shocking history of one of the worst abuses of Church power since the foundation of the Irish State. From Bessboro, Castlepollard, and Sean Ross Abbey to St. Patrick's and Tuam, a dark shadow was cast by the collusion between Church and State in the systematic repression of women and the wilful neglect of illegitimate babies, resulting in the deaths of thousands. It was Paul's exhaustive research that widened the global media's attention to all the homes and revealed Tuam as just the tip of the iceberg of the horrors that lay beneath. He further reveals the vast profits generated by selling babies to wealthy adoptive parents, and details how infants were volunteered to a pharmaceutical company for drug trials without the consent of their natural mothers. Interwoven throughout is Paul's poignant and deeply personal journey of discovery as he attempts to find his own natural mother. The Adoption Machine exposes this dark history of Ireland's shameful and secret past, and the efforts to bring it into the light. It is a history from which there is no turning away. [ Current Affairs, Politics, Irish Studies, History, Religious Studies]

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ireland, Adoption

290 pages, Paperback

Published May 29, 2018

Reviews

[Janine Ja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable the work Paul did on this book. I'm proud to be able to call him an "adoptee-rights" associate and a friend. If you want to know about adoptions from Ireland, I definitely recommend this book.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recommended this book and I really can't say I enjoyed it, because the subject matter is so devastating. It is however, a very well written book. It could have been rather dry, given the scope of the matter under discussion but the author never fails to remind us that we are talking about real people, real babies and real unmarried mothers who were supposedly cared for by the nuns of the Catholic Church in Ireland. This is not some historical account, but these things happened in my lifetime, and only recently have I become aware of the cruelty condoned by the Church...Some time ago, I read the book "Philomena" and saw the movie of that name which tells the story of one man who was taken away from his single mother and adopted into an American family. This is just the tip of the iceberg. In Catholic Ireland, unmarried mothers were herded into 'Mother and Baby Homes where they were routinely punished for having had sex before marriage. Fathers were not identified and were not punished. The infants born in these homes were often referred to as the 'Spawn of Satan', and their mothers made to do hard labour in spite of their condition. One example was of mothers forced to cut the grass on their knees, one grass stalk at a time. Medical help during pregnancy and labour was often absent. There were no medical supplies and the mothers were left to give birth on their own, and were put into a 'screaming room' if the labour was more than usually painful or long. It is hard to understand how the nuns in charge could have been so cruel and why there actions were not denounced by the Church. Redmond is himself a child born in a Mother and Baby Home so his interest in the subject is sincere, and he is to be congratulated in the role he played in bringing this scandal to the notice of the government and people of Ireland.

[Dianne Landry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am one of the people who thought the Magdalene Laundries and the Mother and Baby Homes were one and the same. I stand corrected. This book was a very hard read. The abuses these women and children endured is unimaginable. Infant death rates in these homes were up to 80% above the national average. No one cared because the mothers weren't married. As always, it was their fault, no blame was every attached to the men who got them that way.

I know this will not be a popular statement but I firmly believe the world would be a much better place if we found a way to eradicate the catholic church from existence.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes for harrowing reading and I must confess that at times my anger levels went through the roof. In 2014 a mass grave of 800 babies was found on a site adjacent to a mother and baby home in Tuam county Galway. The Irish government launched an immediate inquiry and opened a veritable can of worms.The practice by the nuns who ran this and other homes of selling babies who were listed as dead to wealthy Americans was widespread. Many other babies died through neglect. The nuns claimed lack of funds was responsible for so many deaths, despite the fact they were raking it in through the sale of babies. The treatment the single mums recieved beggars belief. Redmond himself was born in one of these homes and only recently made contact with his birth mother as adoption files are sealed for life in Ireland. The inquiry into the homes scandal is still ongoing but some of the worst offenders are not even included. A difficult but excellent read.

[Alice O'Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have huge admiration for Paul Jude Redmond who undertook to carry out comprehensive research to make us aware of the shameful and unnecessary deaths of the most vulnerable in Irish society, ironically caused by those who were deemed to hold moral authority over the rest of the population. The book is a tough read and as an Irish person, who has always been proud of my heritage, I have to wonder how my people could behave with such savagery? I know people will say that it was due to the respect for the Church in Ireland at the time and so on. Personally I don't buy this. Didn't Jesus teach compassion and generosity?

[D M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It makes so much sense to me.

This book gives facts and figures and is not sentimental or sensationalist. What makes me give 5 stars for me is that it has helped me to understand many of the strange, startling and sometimes downright astonishing attitudes, opinions and 'teachings' of my Irish Catholic relatives who was born in the late 30's and early 40's. Having always been the rebel in my family I refuse to accept anything I hear and only half of what I see. Having read this book I have realised how strong the Church was in oppressing believers' opinions and actions.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is something everyone should read. It really brings to light how we treat one another.

[Susanne Alethea Larssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hard to read due to its dark subject. But it is also well written and sheds light on the cynicism, greed, and cruelty that cost so many lives and left so many people, children as well as mothers with deep, emotional wounds. It also clarifies the difference between mother's homes, where pregnant women were mistreated through pregnancy, and where little to no help was available during birth. Babies so neglected they died from malnutrition and infected bedsores. The mortality rate was sky high, 50% in some homes.
Redmond also writes about the catholic church's total lack of will to do anything to help those victims of this injustice, and instead actively oppose investigations. The church also, in addition to money granted by the Irish government, earned money from the women's labor, and the lucrative sale of babies for adoption. The book left me angry and frustrated, however, it is worth reading.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly phenomenal. As humans and community members I feel we all have a responsibility to educate ourselves on history, the good and the bad. In this book you will certainly learn about the bad, the inhumane, the difficult to fathom, but also what progress folks can achieve when they come together and persist in the name of justice.

I will be recommending this book to absolutely everyone at every given opportunity.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read several books about the Magdalane laundries in Ireland, I was naturally led to the issue of the mother/baby homes which were closely related to the tragedy of the laundries. Then a trip to Ireland that included a visit to Tuam increased my interest even more. The history is savage, and this book documents one victim's quest to help other survivors uncover their personal truths as he sought his own.

[Syntaxx · Rating 3 out of 5]

always something new to learn about the atrocities of the catholic church. the nuns at the mother and baby homes sound like world-class c*unt5 and i hope they're all burning in the h311 they so vehemently professed to believe in.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many statistics just couldn't get into it

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very difficult book to read and the consequences of shaming children and mothers did not bode well .Of all forms of government ,theocracy has to be one of the worst .

[mindy grainger]

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[Erin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible book and so upsetting!

[Lex Baumann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars: Very interesting and important story to tell. The structure of the writing caused me to get lost a few times, which is the only reason I didn't rate it higher.

[Karen Koppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written more like a thesis than a historical non fiction book. It was definitely a factual telling of the horrible abuse perpetrated by the catholic church toward unwed mothers and their infants - from neglect and physical abuse to murder. Unbelievable. But actually believable considering the long history of abuses performed under the auspices of organized religion.