Women often sought entry to the Regina Coeli hostel because of domestic violence, homelessness or drug addiction, Chai Brady writes
Despite advice from taxpayer-funded investigations, the Government has continued to call for more than €26m from the Legion of Mary to pay into the Mother and Baby Homes redress scheme.
When the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was published in January 2021, Regina Coeli Hostel stood out among the 18 institutions investigated. Founded in 1930 by Frank Duff and run by the Legion of Mary, Regina Coeli was not a ‘conventional’ mother and baby home but a hostel for homeless women, including unmarried mothers and their children, women suffering from alcoholism, mental health issues and those facing other forms of destitution.
A total of 5,631 women and 5,434 children stayed there between 1930 and 1998. Unlike most other institutions of its time, Regina Coeli allowed mothers to remain with their babies. The Commission found that before the 1970s it was the only institution that actively supported unmarried mothers who wished to keep their infants. Its records show that 29.7% of mothers in the 1930s kept their babies, rising to 87.3% in the 1980s.
Hostel
The hostel operated in a former workhouse building on North Great Brunswick Street in Dublin, next to the Morning Star hostel for men – also run by the Legion of Mary. According to a memorandum written by Frank Duff in 1950, the hostel’s primary aim was to help “the derelict type of woman”.
A 1932 report stated that each resident was given individual attention, with moral guidance focused on frequenting the sacraments. Daily prayers were part of the routine, and Mass was available, but attendance was voluntary. Many women who stayed there maintained contact with the hostel after they left, and some returned multiple times over the years.
The report describes how many women were referred to Regina Coeli by employers, hospitals, priests, Legion of Mary members, and State departments, particularly during the 1940s and 1950s. It often served as short-term emergency accommodation while local authorities arranged a place for a woman in a mother and baby home. Some women who arrived at Regina Coeli left before giving birth and moved to other institutions.
The Commission’s report noted that Regina Coeli did not employ medical staff, nurses or midwives”
While the hostel encouraged mothers to keep their babies, many children did eventually enter foster care or industrial schools, often due to the lack of social supports for single mothers. Frank Duff strongly opposed the removal of children from their mothers to industrial schools. He said that breaking up the family unit frequently led to further difficulties for both mother and child.
Women at Regina Coeli paid a small fee for accommodation and food. Mothers were expected to work within or outside the hostel to cover costs – one of the core principles behind all Legion of Mary hostels was that no services should be provided free. The basic charge in Regina Coeli was 6d a day (approximately €1 today), including supper. There was no charge for babies under six months; older babies were charged at one shilling a week (around €2). Mothers were expected to find outside work, or undertake work in the hostel to earn this money. However, most work in the hostel was carried out by members of the Legion of Mary.
The Legion of Mary ran the hostel on a volunteer basis without paid staff. The Commission’s report noted that Regina Coeli did not employ medical staff, nurses or midwives. Expectant mothers were sent to local hospitals, such as the Rotunda, for medical care and childbirth. Reports from the time highlighted outbreaks of infectious disease and limited healthcare services due to overcrowded conditions and poor sanitation. Appointments of temporary nurses for periods lasting weeks, and sometimes one to two months to tackle epidemics in Regina Coeli, were a regular feature throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
From the 1960s onwards the circumstances of the women entering the hostel changed and some women sought entry because of domestic violence, homelessness or drug addiction.
Negotiations
In August 2023, the Legion of Mary wrote to then-Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman, rejecting calls for an apology and redress related to Regina Coeli. In the letter, seen by The Irish Catholic through a Freedom of Information request, the Legion stated that the hostel was not run by a religious congregation or order and was operated by lay volunteers without State funding or paid staff. It said that Regina Coeli cannot be categorised alongside institutions central to the wider mother and baby homes controversy.
Historical government files from the 1950s that described one-parent families as ‘abnormal’”
The Legion pointed to the Commission’s final report, which concluded that “redress does not arise” in the case of Regina Coeli. It claimed that any demand for an apology or compensation conflicts with the Commission’s recommendation. The Legion also referenced historical government files from the 1950s that described one-parent families as “abnormal” and said State officials had undermined Regina Coeli’s efforts to help single mothers.
Policy
The Legion of Mary said in their August 25, 2023 letter: “You state that you wish to treat all religious bodies/organisations similarly in your financial planning and it seems that you have misunderstood the difference between how the Regina Coeli Hostel and religious congregations or religious orders ran their institutions…
“You also suggest that you require uniformity in the process in that every institution must be treated the same even though the Regina Coeli was a Homeless Hostel and not a registered Mother and Baby home, and indeed that the Recommendations [Paragraph 23 Regina Coeli ‘Redress does not arise’] in the report clearly exonerated the behaviour of the Regina Coeli with the conclusion that no money or compensation should be paid by the hostel or the Legion of Mary. Your unilateral policy means that we are effectively being discriminated against as our particular structure/context/circumstances must be ignored together with the said recommendations of the statutory established independent and impartial Mother and Baby Report.
“Your letter indicates that you wish to simply adopt some form of unilateral policy and decide that we are ‘guilty by association’ in that we named in the report and so should be treated the same as other State funded agencies or religious congregations. This is a serious and direct rebuttal of the Mother and Baby Home Report’s recommendation, that no monies should be paid by the non-state funded Regina Coeli hostel or by the Legion of Mary,” the Legion said.
Ó Fearghaíl TD criticised the Government’s ongoing request for €26.2 million redress”
The letter concluded that the hostel’s funds are required solely for charitable purposes in line with the Charities Act and ongoing construction contracts.
Former Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD criticised the Government’s ongoing request for €26.2 million redress from the Legion of Mary in relation to Regina Coeli Hostel, describing the demand as unjustified given the Government’s findings.
Redress
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr Ó Fearghaíl said: “It is essential that all organisations and parties who have been found to be responsible for abuse and/or inhumane treatment of mothers and babies make a very significant contribution to the redress scheme.
“I fail to see however why the Department views the Legion of Mary/Regina Coeli as a relevant organisation when neither the Commission of Investigation nor the independent negotiator found against them or recommended that they should contribute to redress, from what I consider in any case to be their very limited means.”
Mr Ó Fearghaíl had earlier submitted a parliamentary question to the now Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Norma Foley, asking the Department about its position. The Department responded that while Regina Coeli was included in the institutions investigated by the Commission, and therefore under the remit of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme, no specific legal action had been taken but “potential legal options” were being explored.
The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme provides financial payments and health supports”
The Department stated that all relevant organisations were invited to contribute voluntarily in a spirit of “collective responsibility”.
In response to direct questions from The Irish Catholic, the department reiterated that the scheme provides redress to any individual who spent time in the institutions investigated, whether they were accompanied by their mother or not. They did not clarify how this aligns with the Commission’s findings regarding Regina Coeli.
Following a previous query on the same issue from this paper, this is the department’s statement in full: “The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme provides financial payments and health supports to people who spent time, as mothers or as children, in the institutions investigated by the Commission. In the case of those who spent time as children, they qualify regardless of whether they were accompanied or unaccompanied by their mother. As set out in our earlier response, after Government committed to develop the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme, the then Minister commenced a process of engagement with religious organisations with a view to securing voluntary financial contributions to the cost of the Payment Scheme. The process of seeking a voluntary contribution from relevant organisations was undertaken by the Independent Negotiator, Sheila Nunan.
“Departmental officials have liaised with the Office of the Attorney General and will continue to engage with them on any potential legal options which may be available to the State. This complex work will require detailed consideration and may take some time to complete. In addition, the broader impacts and implications of any potential options identified will have to be considered.”
Methodology
It has been reported the legal options could potentially include seizing assets and freezing bank accounts.
In addition to the August 2023 discussions, the Legion of Mary warned the then-Minister Roderic O’Gorman that a payment of €26.2 million would jeopardise its ongoing homelessness services and breach charity law.
In November 2023, the Department of Children contracted EY to conduct financial assessments of religious organisations named in the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, including the Legion of Mary. EY’s role was to independently assess the financial position of these bodies and advise the Government’s appointed negotiator, Sheila Nunan, on what a reasonable voluntary contribution toward the redress scheme might look like.
In January 2024, EY contacted the Legion of Mary (LoM), formally requesting financial information and documentation to support this exercise. On April 26, the Legion wrote to EY, stating that it would not be supplying the requested information and explained its reasons for not participating in the financial assessment process.
On July 15, 2024, the negotiator wrote to the organisation again, informing them that a formal methodology had been devised to support the negotiation process. The methodology was based on principles of ‘shared responsibility’, the historical legacy of institutions involved, and a ‘fair and equitable’ distribution of contributions across organisations. The negotiator clarified that EY’s financial analysis of the Legion was based entirely on publicly available information due to the Legion’s refusal to participate.
The Legion was invited to meet to discuss the methodology and the figures arrived at. It was informed that this financial assessment and the methodology used would be included in the final report to the Minister. The negotiator also invited the Legion to reconsider its position and strongly encouraged a voluntary contribution to the redress scheme. In 2023, according to the Charities Regulator, the Legion received €316,352, their expenditure was €1,392,405. As of 2023 the Legion has net assets of €1,839,595 and €1,566,521 cash.
On August 22, 2024, the Legion replied, restating its earlier position. In September of the same year, following receipt of the full methodology, the Legion again declined to engage. Finally, on December 15, 2024, the Legion confirmed in writing that it would not participate further in the negotiation process. It reiterated its objection to being included and stated that the issues raised in prior correspondence had not been resolved.
Ms Nunan stated she had ‘no recommendation’ to make regarding a financial contribution from the Legion”
Given the Legion’s position, the negotiator concluded that no recommendation could be made in relation to a contribution from the organisation. This decision followed a process in which the Legion of Mary was assessed financially without its consent or cooperation, despite the Commission’s earlier conclusion that “redress does not arise” in the case of Regina Coeli Hostel.
In the 2025 negotiations report, published in March, independent negotiator Sheila Nunan detailed her extensive engagement with religious organisations. Regarding the Legion of Mary, she recorded their position — that Regina Coeli was not a mother and baby home, received no state funding, and provided services that were not comparable to institutional settings under scrutiny. Ms Nunan stated she had “no recommendation” to make regarding a financial contribution from the Legion.
In 1951, internal government communications criticised the hostel for assisting unmarried mothers, calling such family structures “abnormal” and viewing the Legion’s work with suspicion. The historical record suggests that Regina Coeli operated without institutional support — and in some instances in opposition to prevailing State policy.
Despite this, State-contracted consultants EY recommended that the Legion contribute €26.2 million. The Government has yet to withdraw the request.
