A woman who claims she lost three babies to ‘baby snatchers’ linked to the Catholic church has penned a book about her harrowing ordeal.
Mary Creighton was just 15 when she first fell pregnant in 1967 and was placed in a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns in Castlepollard, County Westmeath.
Unlike most, Mary managed to ‘escape’ with her baby daughter Catherine [not her real name] – but later lost her to social services, setting her on a destructive path.
She lost two further daughters under similar circumstances – again linking them to the involvement of nuns.
Now, against the backdrop of a major inquiry into the running of former mother and baby homes in Ireland, the 65-year-old has written a heartbreaking account of her experience called The Baby Snatchers.
Heartbreak: Mary Creighton, now 65, was just 15 when she first fell pregnant and was placed in a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns in Castlepollard – later losing all three babies
‘Shamed’ by an unplanned pregnancy
Mary was an Irish Catholic and found herself pregnant out of wedlock at 15. Her mother, shamed by the unplanned pregnancy, ‘colluded’ with a local nun to put Mary in a home for unmarried mothers before leaving for America – leaving her daughter to her own fate.
‘Together they decided it’d be for the best if I was taken to a mother and baby home in Westmeath called Castlepollard,’ Mary said.
‘I was stripped of my clothes and my identity. It was the beginning of my nightmare.
‘I soon discovered the unmarried mothers of Castlepollard were expected to work 12 hours a day. We’d even have to put in an hour’s work before Mass at 8am.
Mary (left, with her first baby Catherine and her aunt) managed to ‘escape’ with her daughter – but later lost her to social services, setting her on a destructive path
‘The priest would preside over his congregation of “fallen women” and tell us we’d “spawned the seed of Satan” and were “nothing”.
‘We were treated like an underclass, hidden away from what he called “decent people”, who we “weren’t fit to breathe the same air as”.’
‘We were beaten for being pregnant’: Shocking treatment at Castlepollard
‘In a shocking case of double standards, and in a country where family life is considered paramount, we were worked and beaten just for being pregnant,’ Mary recalled.
‘The nuns of the Sacred Heart would punish us. We were starved of food, whilst our babies were force-fed from six weeks in a bid to “fatten them up” for adoption.’
Mary says mothers were made to give up their children for adoption into wealthy families.
Mary (pictured in Rome aged 22) later married – though later divorced – and went on to have two further daughters, who she is still in touch with, after moving to Liverpool
In later life, while searching for her lost children, she discovered the Facebook group Banished Babies, where many members were former illegitimate children from Castlepollard.
Truth behind harrowing ordeal of Castlepollard mothers
It has since been alleged that 2,500 babies from this home were put forward for adoption, and that an estimated 500 died and are buried there.
The Irish government recently agreed to give the Commission Of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, set up to look at 14 former mother and baby homes, an extra year to complete its report – now set to be published in February 2019.
Despite her chaotic start in life, Mary later married – though later divorced – and went on to have two further daughters.
Recalling the heartbreak of losing her first child in her new book, Mary said: ‘Babies were routinely ripped from their mothers’ arms and put up for adoption.
Mary with her new book, The Baby Snatchers. In later life, while searching for her lost children, she discovered the Facebook group Banished Babies, where many members were former illegitimate children from Castlepollard
‘Fearing for my child, I decided to escape. Although my mother had disowned me, a kindly neighbour not only took me in but “bought” both Catherine and I our freedom.’
A horseshoe nail for every young life lost
During the hellish year she spent at Castlepollard, Mary would often hear the intermittent sound of workmen banging nails.
She later learned that every time a baby died, the workmen would hammer in a horseshoe nail into the perimeter wall to mark the death of a child buried in the grounds.
‘Babies “disappeared” on a regular basis,’ Mary said. ‘The workmen showed those children more respect in death than the nuns had ever showed them in life.’
Fearful for her baby’s safety, Mary fled to Edinburgh but claims that the social services later took both Catherine and the second child she had since given birth to.
New beginnings: Following her ordeal, Mary fled to Liverpool where she gave birth to two more daughters and went on to live a happy family life
‘I realised that once you’d been labelled a “bad mother” it was almost impossible to convince people otherwise,’ she said.
‘I fought to get my children back. One had already been fostered, so I fled to Ireland with Catherine, but she was taken from me again. With both girls gone, I hit the bottle and fell into a spiral of depression.’
Fleeing to Liverpool after loss of her third baby
‘I found myself pregnant again, but the nuns became involved and I was sent to a notorious “Magdalene laundry” – where I was forced to work. I was told to sign over my baby, who they took from me following her birth.
‘After signing, I changed my mind and became hysterical. The nun called a doctor, and I was locked inside a mental hospital with other unmarried mothers.’
On Mary first weekend visit, instead of heading home, she caught a boat and fled to Liverpool – vowing to one day find her daughters again.
Years later she managed to track down one of them, but she decided to cut contact with her mother.
Shocking discovery at Castlepollard
Mary has since made a devastating discovery after a mass grave was found at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway.
After it was alleged up to 800 children died, a judicial inquiry was ordered by the Irish government into 14 mother and baby homes. Castlepollard is one of them.
‘In March last year, survivors from Castlepollard released the names of everyone known to have died there. There were 203 registered deaths, but ledgers are either missing or did not exist, so the true figure may never be known, but is thought to be between 400 to 500.
‘The Castlepollard babies are buried in a small Angel’s plot that is a quarter of a mile from the main manor house. Today, the surrounding wall is said to have over 100 horseshoe nails in it. I went on to give birth to two more daughters, who I love more than life itself.’
Starting afresh: Mary’s new life in Liverpool
Following her ordeal, Mary fled to Liverpool where she gave birth to two more daughters and went on to live a happy family life.
‘Liverpool offered me a sanctuary – a place to bring up a family without having to look over my shoulder. If all cities in the world were like Liverpool then it would be a much happier place,’ she said.
The Baby Snatchers (£7.99, Blink Publishing)