Under Ireland’s Skin: Memorialising the Infants who Died in Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes through the Babóg Project

Public records show that at least 6,000 infants and children died in Mother and Baby homes in Ireland between 1922 and 1986, although that is a conservative figure. These institutions, run by religious organisations in collaboration with the State, existed as coercive confinement for unmarried pregnant women and their children. In 2018, artist Laura Whalen started “The Babóg Project”, which asked members of the public to create miniature dolls to represent each baby who died in these homes as an expression of public grieving, re-enfranchisement and memorialisation. This paper aims to contextualise the motivations and experiences of the artist and the individuals who have voluntarily contributed to the project from across the world through the lenses of memorialisation and grievability.