FROM THE ARCHIVES:The parish priest of Leighlinbridge in 1938 challenged the local health board's policy of forcing unmarried mothers to go into the county home and its general treatment of the poor. – JOE JOYCE
AT A meeting of Carlow Board of Health today, Fr Donohoe, PP, Leighlinbridge, complained about the harsh treatment of home assistance recipients.
He said that poor people had not been treated according to justice or . . . Poor Law. He knew of a case where the doctor had given a certificate stating that the person was in need of immediate help, and the relieving officer said that he would have to wait until the next meeting of the board of health. A person could die of starvation in the interval. The board could not compel unmarried mothers to go into the County Home against their will. They were faced with either going in or being deprived of assistance.
The Chairman – The County Home is . . . a form of relief. We thought it was a wise policy to bring unmarried mothers into the County Home for their own sakes. Why should we give them the right to refuse? They are living on the charity of people who have to pay for these services.
Fr Donohoe – You have no right to force them to come into the County Home.
The Chairman – I would expect, Father, that we would have your co-operation in trying to get girls like that into the County Home, where they are better looked after and safer than in their own place. Their children are sent out to decent homes, where they are properly looked after.
Fr Donohoe – That is not the law.
The Chairman – Do you disagree with the policy of the board in trying to get such women into the County Home?
Fr Donohoe – . . . I say you are forcing people into the County Home, which is against the law. By refusing assistance . . . you are taking the risk of allowing them to die of starvation.
The Chairman – We can give relief in kind or cash, or offer the County Home.
Fr Donohoe – If a girl refuses to go will you allow her to die?
The Chairman – A person who refuses to come in here is not destitute.
Fr Donohoe – Every person has a right to his or her liberty.
Fr Donohoe instanced other cases of alleged harsh treatment, and said that he knew people who were in danger of starvation were it not for the charitable action of some of his parishioners.
The Chairman – Your statements are very serious . . . this matter should be cleared up and discussed in a general way.
Fr Donohoe – I want to know if a relieving officer can override the urgent note of a doctor.
The Chairman – The doctor recommends a case for special consideration, and . . . the relieving officer is empowered to give relief . . . without the authority of the board . . . Home assistance, added the Chairman, is a form of charity.
Fr Donohoe – It is not charity; it is the law of the land.
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