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The Póilíní Podcast Podcast
The Birdhill Baby: A Tragic Discovery Wrapped in the Evening Herald

The Birdhill Baby: A Tragic Discovery Wrapped in the Evening Herald

The Póilíní Podcast vor 1 Woche

Secrecy, shame and impossible choices in Ireland’s Emergency

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32:50

In April 1941, a railway gatekeeper in Birdhill, County
Tipperary, found a newborn's body wrapped in a copy of the
Evening Herald. This episode explores how Gardaí handled cases of
concealment of birth and infant death between 1939 and 1946, when
wartime travel restrictions, stigma, Church influence and the
lack of legal adoption left desperate women with few options.
Hosted by writer Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr
John Reynolds, this is a conversation about policing at its most
sensitive and human.

Drawing on newspaper court reports, Garda records and John's own
experience as a Garda Sergeant, this episode is a sobering look
at the people who lived and worked in the shadow of these tragic
cases.

Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse

Producer - Daryl Moorhouse

Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne

Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios

Find out more or get in touch here

Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even
'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast
covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history,
from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan
Police, to An Garda Síochána.

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