A place where women were encouraged to keep their children

Despite healthcare failings, the Dublin hostel run by the Legion of Mary was more compassionate than many at the time, writes Chai Brady

One of the institutions in the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes published last week stands out as somewhat of an anomaly among the 18 investigated, in that it was the only one in Ireland prior to the 1970s that supported unmarried mothers who wished to raise their child or children. The founder Frank Duff was also strongly opposed to children being committed to industrial schools.

Another difference was the Regina Coeli hostel also catered for homeless women, separated women, alcoholics, women with mental health problems and other destitute women.

The hostel is described as “not a conventional mother and baby home”. It was run by the Legion of Mary, a lay Catholic organisation, founded in 1921 by Mr Duff who was a senior civil servant in the Department of Finance.

Regina Coeli provided both short-term and long-term accommodation for many pregnant single women and for mothers and children. A total of 5,631 women and 5,434 children who came within the commission’s terms of reference were in Regina Coeli between 1930 and 1998.

The commission, in its focus on Regina Coeli, stated that the hostel “offers insights into an alternative to the other mother and baby homes”. Unlike the other institutions they examined, it never received direct State support for maintaining mothers and children.

The hostel opened in North Great Brunswick Street, in part of the former North Dublin Union, next door to the Morning Star hostel for homeless men, also run by the Legion of Mary, that opened in 1927.

Planning for a women’s hostel began in 1929 and the commission states that there is no indication that Regina Coeli was originally planned as a mother and baby home. In a memorandum written in 1950, Frank Duff stated: “Primarily it was the derelict type of woman that was in view, but from the very first moment the unmarried mother presented herself for admission and was accepted in her capacity of destitute.”

They did not admit ‘girls possessing means’ because it was believed that they could make other arrangements.

The Legion of Mary and their religious mission was central to its operation. In the 1932 report on Regina Coeli, Frank Duff emphasised: “Every entrant is made the subject of a special and individual attention directed in the first place to the creation of moral fibre through the frequentation of the sacraments.”

Faith played an important role in the life of Regina Coeli, according to the report, which also found that in the first 18 months two retreats were held in the hostel and there was a chapel for the women to pray in.

Oratory

A member of the Legion of Mary who worked in Regina Coeli, the commission discovered, said: “When our oratory opened then there would have been weekly Mass, and occasionally Mass during the week. But very few of our residents would attend it, they would always be welcome but no one was ever forced to attend.” Daily prayers were part of the routine, but she claimed that no one was obliged to take part.

The individual records of women in the hostel indicate that much emphasis was placed on confession, including a note of when a resident was last ‘at the sacraments’. Some cards record whether the woman had made a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ confession. “All the children were baptised and subsequently consecrated to Our Lady and all the mothers were churched,” the report states.

In the 1932 report Regina Coeli claimed that the hostel assisted women who were in grave difficulties “for whom no alternative existed”. The only facilities for unmarried mothers in Dublin were the Dublin Union or Protestant homes. It was alleged that some women were reluctant “to face the union”; furthermore, the union would only admit “Dublin girls”, which meant that for the “the large number of those flying from the country,” the Protestant homes were the only option.

Between October 1930 and May 1932, 101 women were admitted to Regina Coeli; 26 were described as ‘waiting mothers’ – pregnant; 45 gave birth after admission and 30 arrived with their baby. The outcomes for these mothers were: two went back to previous employment; 19 settled in indoor situations (live-in service); six settled in outdoor situations; 12 married; 23 returned home; 39 were in Regina Coeli or in the Coombe Hospital.

Referred

Women were referred to the hostel by their employer, from hospital, by members of the Legion of Mary, by priests and many were referred to the hostel by the Department of Local Government and Public Health/Department of Health seeking assistance in the 1940s and 1950s. Many women also heard about the hostel through word of mouth.

In the years 1944-48, 73 of the 680 women who contacted the department were sent to Regina Coeli and large numbers were referred to the hostel during World War II, though it was often full and they had to be sent elsewhere. The department used Regina Coeli as short-term emergency accommodation while inspectors tried to secure the agreement of a local authority to pay for the woman’s maintenance in a mother and baby home and a place was being sought for her in one of those homes. Many of the 999 women who were in the hostel and left before giving birth went to mother and baby homes.

Harrowing

A harrowing entry about one woman from 1933 states that “a TD is responsible for her trouble. She had been going to Leinster House and creating scenes there, trying to see him”. She had been sent to Regina Coeli “by the porter from Leinster House”.

The cards often record cases where a pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, though these words are generally not used; rather reference is made to the putative father being a family member or the woman having been ‘assaulted’. Whether or not the father of the child was supportive and whether he acknowledged the pregnancy or child was also recorded, if known.

There was overlap at times, with some women coming from another mother and baby home or staying just a few nights in the hostel before going on to another institution.

A unique feature of Regina Coeli was the fact that many women entered the hostel on multiple occasions and others stayed, sometimes intermittently, over the course of many years. Some of these long-stay women gave birth to a number of children during their years in the hostel. Many women kept in contact with the staff in the hostel after they had left and sometimes returned for a further stay (not pregnant).

The commission found that there were many other examples of woman staying for multiple years, with some coming and going intermittently. Another distinct feature of the Regina Coeli hostel was the fact that many residents maintained contact following their departure.

Regina Coeli was unusual in that it admitted women who had been, or were currently, involved in crime. There are references in the records to residents who had some contact with the Gardaí in relation to theft or violence.

Women who were engaged in prostitution were generally sent to the Legion’s Sancta Maria Hostel. The two hostels were in close communication, and regularly cross-referred. However some ‘street cases’ were admitted to Regina Coeli, particularly those who were seeking to give up soliciting.

Children

A total of 5,434 children were admitted to Regina Coeli and there is information about the date of admission for over 99% of the children. Children came to Regina Coeli with their mother, and remained with their mother; in a small number of cases a child might remain in Regina Coeli, while their mother was in hospital, prison or otherwise temporarily absent.

Admissions peaked in the 1940s when over 30% of the children were admitted; 225 children were admitted in 1942 and 233 in 1943 – statistics that mirror the peaks experienced by other mother and baby homes during these years. The numbers admitted in the 1950s were just over half the figure for the 1940s; in the 1960s less than one-fifth of the 1940s number were admitted. (The small number may reflect the need to rebuild the hostel). The number admitted rose sharply in the 1980s, reflecting the increase in the number of mothers who were keeping their child.

Before the 1970s, Regina Coeli was the only institution that assisted unmarried mothers to keep their infant. The following are the percentages of mothers who are known to have kept their babies within Regina Coeli. It is possible that other mothers left with their babies and raised them outside the hostel. Although the mothers who kept their babies were a minority until the 1970s, the proportion was undoubtedly much higher than for any other institution catering for unmarried mothers.

In the early years, it appears that the outcomes for children from Regina Coeli were not very different to other mother and baby homes.

1930s: 29.71%

1940s: 30.60%

1950s: 43.10%

1960s: 39.20%

1970s: 72.50%

1980s: 87.30%

1990s: 79.40%

In a lengthy memorandum written in 1950 and submitted to the Department of Health, Frank Duff stated: “From a very early moment it became a principal idea of the hostel that mothers should be encouraged to keep their children permanently…The best that could be aimed at was that they would retain them for a period of a year, so as to give the child its chance of life. After that everything operated to bring about separation. A job was found for the mother and the child went off to fosterage or into an industrial school. But in the case of the Regina Coeli there was no date at which the mother had to make up her mind. Each new day brought growth of affection for the child and the natural mother to keep it and be responsible for it. From first to last the hostel has urged this latter consideration on the girls. The cry too commonly heard is that these girls should be ‘given their chance’ as if no responsibility whatever lay on the mother in respect of the child.” Mr Duff believed that as the fathers had failed in their duty to the children, there was a greater responsibility on the mother.

He claimed that: “As a result of the interaction of proper natural affection and the encouragement and facilities provided…a great proportion of the girls are not only prepared but determined to keep their child.”

Due to this, the hostel expanded rapidly particularly on the “unmarried mothers” side as it was necessary to provide care and food throughout the day.

One of the core principles behind all Legion of Mary hostels was that no services should be provided free of charge. The basic charge in Regina Coeli was 6d a day (approximately €1 in today’s money), including supper. There was no charge for babies under six months; older babies were charged at one shilling a week (around €2 today). Mothers were expected to find outside work, or undertake work in the hostel to earn this money. However, most work in the hostel was carried out by members of the Legion of Mary.

Frank Duff was opposed to children being committed to industrial schools, saying in a memorandum: “The result of this breaking up the little family unit is not for the good either of mother or child. A formidable proportion of the women thus relieved of their children get into trouble again…Based upon [the] Regina Coeli experience of such cases, it can be confidently asserted that over sixty per cent of such girls thus come to disaster, and it is at least likely that the proportion is very much higher. Then what happened to the children who are thus taken away? The number of children who emerge from industrial schools at the age of sixteen and then come to grief is so considerable that a number of years ago the government set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the question.”

Evidence

There is evidence that Regina Coeli encouraged mothers to reclaim their children from industrial schools.

It was discovered in the hostel’s records that women would sometimes leave their children for long periods in the hostel and were contacted several times to return. Some of these children died when they were absent. There were also cases in which a mother clearly wanted to remain with her children but wasn’t allowed into Regina Coeli, in one case it was because her eldest child was too old and she “would barely make payments”.

There are frequent references to children being placed in industrial schools by court orders. Some mothers sought a court order because they were unable, too poor, or unwilling to care for their child. In a number of cases it appears that Regina Coeli petitioned the courts to make an order in respect of the child. In some cases, Regina Coeli would not allow a woman to remain with her children if she could not afford to pay. It would appear from the records that many mothers were unable to pay for their upkeep, but while some remained there long-term, others were not permitted to do so.

Regina Coeli was located in a disused former workhouse which was a 19th Century  building with primitive sanitary and washing facilities. The commission states that for that reason “it is not surprising that there were numerous outbreaks of infectious disease”.

The hostel was staffed by volunteers, who were members of the legion. It did not employ a nurse, midwives or a visiting medical officer. Mr Duff was committed to the principle that care should be provided by volunteers, not paid professionals. This is one of the reasons, it seems from the report, the hostel was badly provided for medically for many, many years.

It was never envisaged that women would give birth in Regina Coeli and the hostel never had a designated resident or visiting midwife on its staff or a visiting obstetrician.

Unmarried mothers

The report states: “A DLGPH (Department of Local Government and Public Health) file in 1943 that examined provisions for ante-natal care for unmarried mothers in various institutions noted that expectant mothers in Regina Coeli were sent to the Rotunda [Hospital] for a medical examination on the first suitable day following their admission. It claimed that women attended ante-natal clinics regularly until the birth of their child. Expectant mothers received a special diet in the hostel, which consisted of an additional pint of milk daily in addition to ‘a good midday meal of meat, vegetables and milk pudding’.”

At the time, infant mortality in Dublin was substantially worse than in comparable cities in Britain and it proved difficult to reduce it. Mortality in the city’s tenements and city centre cottages was extremely high, yet the mortality among illegitimate children was a multiple of that figure, the commission found.

Overcrowding, which facilitated the spread of infectious diseases, was a major factor; likewise the relatively low rate of breastfeeding (which was a reflection of poverty and poor nourishment of mothers). The poor quality of milk used to feed infants, which was often watered down, from tubercular cows, or riddled with infection was another contributory cause. The city of Dublin implemented a variety of schemes to reduce infant mortality, including the feeding of malnourished mothers, and providing depots to supply clean milk.

Regina Coeli experienced outbreaks of infectious diseases almost from the beginning. Appointments of temporary nurses for periods lasting weeks, and sometimes one to two months to tackle epidemics in Regina Coeli, were a regular feature throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

The 1939 report on public health in Dublin city stated that unmarried mothers were visited “in the ordinary way” by district health visitors; their records were kept in a similar manner to married women and they were addressed as married women in the clinics. A later note on a Department of Health file indicates that the local dispensary doctor was responsible for medical care at Regina Coeli, but he found it difficult to visit the hostel “except occasionally”.

The commission found that there was no indication of any response by the DLGPH to frequent requests by Dublin Corporation to approve the appointment of temporary nurses in Regina Coeli. However, there are frequent allegations that children in Regina Coeli were not transferred to hospital in time in the 1940s.

The report also states that: “Some babies died in the hostel because they were refused admission to hospital. A mother ‘says she took the child to Temple St on 19/6/1941, doctor admitted child, nun refused it when it arrived in ward because it came from Regina Coeli. She took it to St Ultan’s Hospital but they had no bed’.”

Epidemic

A report on Dr Russell’s (Dublin medical officer of health) handling of the Regina Coeli epidemic was compiled by Dr Lysaght a medical inspector in the DLGPH. At the conclusion he commented: “My own personal view is that the retention of unmarried mothers and children in this hostel is altogether wrong. St Patrick’s Home, Pelletstown appears to me the proper place for all such cases where they are under the care of nurses; better [sic] are available’, though he acknowledged that Pelletstown was overcrowded.

In 1944 after a measles outbreak a doctor was appointed to the hostel by Dublin Corporation for six weeks, it was noted by a government official “the death rate amongst infants in this institution is excessive”.

In his memoirs, Dr James Deeny, the chief medical officer of the DLGPH, records “at some medical meeting or other, possibly in the Royal Academy of Medicine’, Bob Collis said that the Regina Coeli Hostel was in a terrible state, that babies were dying there and that conditions were abominable”.

Dr Deeny stated that he went to visit Regina Coeli to see whether these allegations were correct, and he determined that enteritis was prevalent in the hostel. He commented that “Frank Duff resented any interference from anybody, was bound by the rules and regulations of the legion which he had written himself, was a living saint, having devoted his life to this extraordinary mission.

“He turned off his hearing aid at meetings if he did not wish to agree to something…It was very difficult to come to any conclusion on what he was doing, but he did have babies with enteritis there. After my shouting at him, he agreed to allow me to help,” he said.

A sub-committee of the consultative health council that focused on infant and child health in Dublin was chaired by the paediatrician, Dr Robert Collis in the mid-40s. They described Regina Coeli as unsatisfactory; infant mortality was three times the rate in Pelletstown. The hostel was “lack(ing) almost every proper facility in regard to both nursing and structure”; it was utterly unsuitable for new-born infants. They claimed that infants in Regina Coeli were “not being properly cared for or adequately nourished at present”.

The records show the majority of deaths of women occurred before 1950. The cause of death is not recorded in most of these instances however most do not seem to be related to the pregnancy or birth.

There was 734 children who were associated with Regina Coeli died, with 68% of the deaths occurring in the 1940s; 335 children died in the years 1941-45. The number of deaths fell sharply in the late 1940s, in line with national trends and trends in other mother and baby homes. 1949 was the last year when the number of child deaths was greater than ten. The last child death was recorded in 1983.

The high proportion of deaths in hospitals that treated infectious diseases shows that they were a major cause of child deaths in Regina Coeli.

The report stated: “The fact that children lived in this hostel for long periods, in a large building that was never designed to reduce the risks of accidents, and the large numbers of active children in the hostel undoubtedly led to an increased risk of accidental injury. There are also reports of children having been abused or neglected. Some reports refer to the mental health of the mother when the incident occurred. There are also allegations that Regina Coeli neglected children who were in the hostel’s care, particularly with respect to infant feeding.”

Domestic violence

From the 1960s onwards the circumstances of the women entering the hostel changed and some women sought entry because of domestic violence, homelessness or drug addiction.

“Regina Coeli continued to house significant numbers of mothers and children although the quality of accommodation was poor. There was a second spike in the numbers of children in the hostel in the early 1980s. By this time many single mothers and their children went to Regina Coeli in the belief that this would help them to secure local authority housing,” the commission found of the hostel in later years.

The healthcare provisions for those in the hostel were horrendous by modern standards and from the commission’s investigations they were still severely poor by the standards of the past. However, Regina Coeli was one of the few institutions that actively endeavoured to encourage mothers to keep their babies and for them to find housing. Frank Duff also emerges as a man ahead of his time in his opposition to the incarceration of children in industrial schools.