How Northern Protestants in the Dáil would have questioned power of Catholic Church

Local historian Catherine Corless with her husband Aidan. Ms Corless’s research led to the discovery of the unmarked grave at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway. Photo: Andy Newman

Various threads have begun to unravel in Irish life as one shameful episode after another is highlighted: from concerns about conditions in mother and baby homes run by nuns, to an intellectually challenged woman's 20 years of abuse in her foster home, with warning flags persistently ignored.

A pattern can be traced in these unwinding strands - deferral to authority, a tendency to look away from disconcerting truths and reluctance to challenge Catholic institutions.

With the glow still warm from last year's centenary celebrations, it is increasingly clear that the fledgling Republic made a catastrophic mistake in outsourcing health and education to the Catholic Church - meanwhile neglecting its inspection duties.

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