2015 Fellow Deirdre Finnerty is set to publish her first non-fiction book ‘Bessborough’.

The book is based on a long read Deirdre wrote for the BBC website, where Deirdre was a staff journalist. It tells the story of three incredible women who spent time in the Irish mother and baby institution in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

Deirdre says,”for over 70 years, Bessborough House, a grand country mansion on the outskirts of City of Cork, operated as one of Ireland’s biggest mother and baby institutions. Women and girls who walked up its stone steps were warned never to reveal their true identities and gave birth to babies they would not be allowed to keep. Their vivid accounts take us right inside the walls of the secretive institution and give us a deep insight into how their experiences impacted their lives afterwards.”

The book is due to be released in April 2022 and can be pre-purchased here.