"Its not to late to come forward" - Marianvale survivor

ONE of the chief contributors to the upcoming inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes has encouraged fellow victims and survivors to come forward and share their testimonies.

Adele Johnstone, who spent several months in the Marianvale mother and baby home , stated that it it not too late for fellow birth mothers to provide their testimonies ahead of a planned public inquiry into mother &baby institutions and Magdalene laundries.

Adele was speaking after having personally met with Rachael Langdale the legal professional who will chair the enquiry at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry.

As Miss Johnstone states the purpose of the inquiry is to ensure acknowledgement is made of the way women and children were treated in the various institutions such as Marianvale and for the state to be held to account. However, this can only be guaranteed if the inquiry receives testimony from as many victims and survivors as possible, with Adele emphasising the fact that it is not too late for people to come forward.

"It is not to late to come forward." said Adele. There are ways and means and people will be protected, there anonymity will be protected. They can give their testimony and evidence in so many different ways. They don't have to go and stand in a court. They can give written evidence, they can give oral evidence or they can do a video.

There are so many means and ways. "We want acknowledgement of the way women and children were treated by the various institutions and the state. The inquiry will now be known as the Inquiry, Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses and Redress scheme Act Northern Ireland 2026 chapter 9 or Inquiry and Redress Scheme Act for short. The Inquiry is due to be held very shortly.

Things will commence very quickly in the next few weeks, they will be moving forward. "The meeting at the Canal Court was in relation to meeting the new chair of the inquiry Rachael Langdale KC who has just been appointed. She is going to meeting victims and survivors prior to the inquiry and she will be the lead.

"She wants to meet as many victims and survivors as possible before the inquiry. I attended with our solicitor Claire McKeegan of Phoenix Law as We need to make sure we have core participation in the inquiry. I was speaking to Racheal directly, shook her hand and spoke to her directly and her team.

This was her opportunity to speak to us face to face outside of the actual inquiry."As Adele explains to the best of her knowledge the right of core participation is one that has never been afforded to individuals such as her in a Public Inquiry in northern Ireland meaning she and counterparts are afforded the legal right to guide the subject of the inquiries questioning through their legal teams.

"The acknowledgement of core participation which is absolutely vital has been acknowledged. As far as I know this has never happened in an inquiry in Northern Ireland."This means that victims and survivors have rights in the inquiry to ask questions through their legal team.

We can formulate and make opening and closing speech's if we wish. Prior to this victims and survivors did not have this and they did not have it in the south of Ireland."In addition to encouraging as many victims and survivors to come forward to provide testimony to the inquiry Adele, who provided her own account of her seven months spent in Marianvale in 1970 some years ago, those who have already shared their experiences can go back and revise their accounts in case any details were forgotten or lost. This as Adele explains can often be as a result of trauma.

“There is another matter. Victims and survivors who have given their testimony already can revisit this."Also if you have given evidence to the Independent panel you can go back to it again. It can be revised with amendments made not to late. Very often victims and survivors who have given testimony can be traumatised and they do not say things that maybe should have been said but this testimony can be revised again which is very good."There is going to be different ways of giving testimony.

We are doing an art project where people are giving their thoughts and feelings into drawings and two girls have made statues."I have contributed my part. I have something that I wrote whilst I was in Marianvale, I have a crochet shaul, my friend has a christening robe. This is all going to be on public display moving forward. This is all going to be treated as evidence.

This is giving a bigger wider voice to victims and survivors instead of just cold written down words."Although 240 of her fellow victims and survivors having already given their testimony to the inquiry Adele is still as keen as ever to ensure that women who were housed in mother and baby homes who are willing to tell their stories come forward."The more evidence that comes forward the better.

The more people come forward the better. There are 240 testimonies that have agreed to go forward into the public inquiry. This is just a drop in the ocean. "If someone wants to come forward they can contact me via my Facebook page. It is Birth Mothers and their Children together.

The logo is a black banner with a babies hand and a mother's hand."If you are a survivor of a mother and baby institution and you want to share your testimony Adele can also be reached via her contact email address of [email protected]