The Kerry Babies Case

The Gard with a “connection to the family” most likely posted elsewhere in the country.

If the local Gardai had a clue they’re unlikely to be spreading it about, unless you are involved with the Gardai.

By cover up do you mean a cover up of the birth by the family or a cover up of the murder by the Gardai?

It is hard to see the uncle who is dead also been the murderer ,he might have been involved in the cover up but been a young guard at the time ,he would have seen the ways of the world with countleess babies born to young mothers and they getting on with life.

Imo it was the matriach who did the deed with full control over her family .Behind closed doors ,some of these matriachs are poisonous but on the outside all smilles

How would adoption have worked without a birth cert? The pregnancy and birth were concealed, Baby John's murder was concealed and his body thrown in the sea.

Agree, but while it may have been a human reaction to protect the mother, surely at some stage they would have had their conscience stirred and said something to aid Joanne Hayes ( another young woman) who they clearly knew was being treated wrongly and completely inhumanely.

Post partum psychosis is very unlikely imo. It seems to have been a well concealed pregnancy with no medical intervention. All hospitals and doctors were asked to provide details of recent births and pregnancies and this mother ( it would appear) never came to gardais attention. I don't believe hospital/doctors would have colluded with Gardai to keep this secret. If the mother/parents intended to keep the baby medical attention would have been sought - it seems the intention was always to dispose of this baby after birth like he never existed.

I do accept though that the parents could have thought at the time that the baby was going to be given away to another family. However when a newborn baby was found murdered on a beach in Kerry these parents would have had to realise there was a high chance that was their baby.

It's possible but I still think it's unlikely. In your scenario this mother went through a concealed pregnancy, gave birth with no medical help, then had a mental episode and killed her baby violently. She then just got on with normal life, married her partner and had more babies. I don't think this scenario could have played out without this couple having serious issues - both of them. Would her partner not have been petrified to have more children with her, would she not have been afraid of having another baby herself?

To me the murder of baby John was no accident - it was very deliberate and I don't think the mother was responsible.

I wondered the same. Maybe the thoughts of the corpse buried in the garden was going to be too much of a daily reminder.

They probably thought throwing it in the sea would wash the problem away.

Ironically it washed up and became an issue for an entirely different family.

A case I'm aware of where a young woman, early 20's, put on a bit of weight and was sent away to "stay with an aunt" for 6 months.

She gave birth to a child who was taken away " to be cared for" 2 days later she was told her baby died. Her daddy came to pick her up.

She went back to work and life went on, she never married or had any more children. It was never mentioned again.

Until she died in her in her 60's. She was outlived by her 2 older sisters who it turned out knew about her 'sin' almost from day one.

...........

A 17 year old concealing her pregnancy from everyone while staying at home is hard to believe.

Was she living at home? Was she still at school ? Did she drop out of school? Did her friends wonder about her?

She had an older brother, was he living at home? Other siblings, sisters? were they older than her? Were they living at home?

In 1984, especially after charges against Joanne Hayes were dropped, people would have begun to wonder.

This was huge news, nationally and internationally and gossip and rumours would have been rife.

Or maybe Baby John's mother was sent away to "stay with a relative" for 6 months and came back with unwanted baggage?

I'd say very probable as opposed to possible.

They lived with the lie.

Sure the nuns probably thought you could "catch the pregnant" from staying too long in the same room as her...