NORTHERN IRELAND
Derry Journal
Eugene Gallagher was just a baby when he was handed over to the Sisters of Nazareth in Fahan.
When he was four years-old – with no idea why he had been placed in care, not knowing who is mother or father were, or if he had any brothers and sisters – he was sent to the St Joseph’s Home in Termonbacca on the outskirts of Derry. He remained there until he was 17.
“A 13 year nightmare,” he told the ‘Journal’ this week.
“Not a single day went by when I didn’t wish I was somewhere else other than Termonbacca.” Eugene said he and the other boys at Termonbacca were allocated numbers – sewn into their clothes – and were referred to by their numbers rather than their names.
“I was placed in the nursery when I first arrived at Termonbacca. I remember being punished because I wet myself. Sometimes I was made to wear my wet trousers over my head and I was beaten on my body with hands or straps.
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