'It's too late for my mum - but I'll carry her torch': Lost son hails mother and baby homes inquiry
Paul McClarey tells UTV News correspondent Sharon O'Neill he will seek the justice his late mother Kathleen never got to see.
A man forcibly adopted from a mother and baby home in the 1960s is “overwhelmed” by the announcement of an official inquiry.
But it comes far too late for Paul McClarey's mother.
He never got to meet her.
By the time he managed to trace Kathleen, he discovered she had died at age 29 following a life that "spiralled out of control" after she was institutionalised as a pregnant teen.
Today, Stormont agreed to the conditions recommended by survivors for an inquiry into the scandal. Thousands of young women and girls were sent to homes across Northern Ireland because they became pregnant while unwed.
They were mistreated and forced to give up children for adoption between 1922 and 1990.
Some faced sexual abuse, and many were put to work without pay in the Magdalene Laundries and workhouses.
On Monday the Northern Ireland Executive announced a public inquiry would investigate the mistreatment and cover-up by Church and State.
Watch: Sharon O'Neill's report on the mother and baby homes inquiry announcement:
The decision was in response to a report published last month, by Queen’s University and Ulster University, which examined mother and baby homes operated by Roman Catholic and Protestant groups, charities, and social services.
The report found more than 14,000 girls and women went through the doors of the homes, Magdalene laundries and other institutions between 1922 and 1990.
It detailed how women were mistreated, held against their will, and forced to give up children for adoption.
Mr McClarey, who was one of the many babies adopted, was part of a group who were told of the inquiry in a private meeting ahead of Monday's public announcement.
“I'm just overwhelmed. This is a momentous day, a historic day,” he told UTV News.
“Unfortunately for some people, like my mother and many friends who I have met along the way, who traced their mothers and only had a short time with them - it's too late for them.
"But it's up to us as their children to carry the torch for truth and justice for them so that they are on the right side of history when we come to the end of this process.”
Mr McClarey’s mother was 17 when she was sent to Marianville home in Belfast in 1964.
“I’ve been on this journey all of my life trying to connect with a woman who I physically can't remember but I've had this huge, huge bond,” he said.
“I traced her in my early 20s, and unfortunately she died when she was 29 years old. She had a tragic life. After she went into that institution, her life just spiralled totally out of control.
“Lots of her friends and relatives have told me that she didn’t want to give me away, but she was forced and the circumstances, like all of these mothers, to give their children away and I guess we are the other side of that coin. We are the children looking for our mothers.”
The Executive Office had formed The Truth Recovery Panel, which engaged with victims and survivors of the institutions over a six-month process to hear their views.
Mr McClarey said survivors were fully involved in the design of the process.
“They have really stood up and listened to what we have to say, and they have fully endorsed, fully endorsed, every recommendation that is in the report. I mean, that's just overwhelming.
Last month an expert panel commissioned by Stormont backed a public inquiry among a number of recommendations after working closely with victims and survivors.
It followed a major academic research report earlier in the year which outlined the scale of mistreatment at the institutions.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the Executive will press ahead with some of the recommendations immediately, but that bringing legislation forward to set up the public inquiry would not be possible until the new Assembly mandate next year.
Mr McClarey said “time will tell” whether Stormont will deliver all that has been promised, but he is hopeful.
Watch Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill announce the inquiry:
“We have a redress scheme for victims and survivors now, early payments. We're can have a full range of service services and hopefully fully funded to support people, because this is going to re-traumatise a lot of people going through this process.
He added: "There are things they can action and other things that we will wait, but we will make sure that we are engaged in this process to make sure that there is full implementation of all the recommendations that are within this report.
"I probably in my heart of hearts, didn't expect that we would get everything we asked for. But we have.
“We fully expect that every single line in that report - every single recommendation - will be fully implemented, and I look forward to seeing that come to life and so do all of the other victims and survivors.”
He admitted that today is a bittersweet day for him and many others who live with the effects of that painful period of history.
“This will only bring some relief of pain. There is some pain that will never go away no matter what happens.
“And there is regret for me personally - that (my mother) she's not here to have herself cleared, if that's the right description.
He added: "I will do everything in my power as her son to make sure that her story is told and forms part of the bigger story.”
Watch Paul McClarey's full story on UTV's Up Close - An Island's Shame here.