(IRELAND)
Irish Times [Dublin, Ireland]
July 7, 2026
By Seanín Graham
Truth Recovery Independent Panel says claims made against ‘Sister Z’, now deceased, merit ‘special attention’ at upcoming inquiry
Allegations of sexual abuse against a nun who worked at a mother and baby home in Co Down should be investigated as part of an upcoming public inquiry, a report has found.
The recommendation was made by the Truth Recovery Independent Panel, which on Tuesday published a report on mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundries and workhouses in Northern Ireland.
The panel said it found “clear evidence of discrimination against women and girls” in the institutions and that systemic failings by the state led to “human rights abuses”.
The actions of “Sister Z” of the Good Shepherd Sisters, who is now dead and was based at Marionville home in Newry, merit “special attention” after numerous testimonies from victims/survivors accused her of sexual abuse while performing gynaecological examinations, the report says.
The role of a social worker, known as “Social Worker A”, who was involved in adoptions and accused of “baby trading”, should also be examined.
More than 12,000 women were admitted to mother and baby homes between the early 1920s and 1990, some 2,000 more than previously estimated, the report found. An additional 3,750 were admitted to Magdalene laundries and the Thorndale industrial home.
Appointed by the Stormont Executive Office in 2023, the 10-person executive panel was asked to examine the workings of institutions run by the Catholic Church, religious orders, some Protestant denominations and the state.
Last month, the Stormont Assembly passed legislation for a public inquiry and financial redress scheme relating to mother and baby institutions.
Drawing on the testimonies of almost 300 victims and survivors, as well as relatives and those with lived experience, a “key theme” of the report is the sexual abuse and rape of many girls and women before their admission. Almost 13 per cent were under the age of sexual consent, the panel found.
“Human rights abuses, degrading treatment, and forced separation of families are recurring and frequent,” said the panel’s co-chairs Prof Leanne McCormick and Prof Sean O’Connell.
The extensive report is described as a comprehensive account of the “hidden history” of these institutions. The panel said it hopes the issues identified will be “examined thoroughly by the public inquiry”.
More than 5,500 archive records have been gathered, preserved, digitised and analysed by the panel in partnership with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
“This has resulted in the largest and most comprehensive collection of lived-experience testimony in Northern Ireland in connection to these institutions,” says the report.
Three of the panel members are victims/survivors with lived experience of the institutions as well as their “pathways and practices”, including the adoption, fostering and social care systems.
The report makes 70 recommendations, including 28 to the public inquiry and 39 to the Northern Ireland Executive. Among them is to further investigate allegations against “Sister Z” and “Social Worker A”.
The claims described in relation to “Sister Z” amounted to “degrading treatment”, in which she used young girls for her own sexual gratification while carrying out “very intrusive” internal examinations, the panel said.
Some of the allegations are “likely to reach the threshold of inhuman treatment”.
The panel also heard allegations that “Social Worker A” was involved in illegal and “totally wrong” adoption placements between the 1960s and 1980s.
The panel said the report represents “a significant milestone in the pursuit of truth and justice for victims/survivors who spent time in these institutions”.
“They have been fundamental to our understanding of what took place in the institutions and the enduring impacts, enabling us to offer our analysis, revealing the hidden history of the institutions and the associated pathways and practices,” the co-chairs said.
“We hope to preserve thousands of records for the first time [and this] will help ensure that the work of the public inquiry can be carried out as swiftly as possible and that the goals of truth, acknowledgment and accountability are reached.
“We have greatly advanced our understanding of the issues and now have much more detail about how these institutions were run in Northern Ireland.”
The findings have been shared with victims and survivors as well as Stormont’s First and Deputy First Ministers.
“It is now for the Executive and a public inquiry to take this forward,” the co-chairs added. “Though a chairperson has not yet been appointed for the public inquiry, the Independent Panel remains willing to meet and engage with them once they are appointed, to assist the inquiry’s work.”