Laura Angela Collins | |
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| Born | Laura Angela Collins London, England |
| Nationality | Irish British |
| Occupation | Chairwoman of Justice 4 All Women & Children |
| Known for | Human rights activist |
| Spouse | Billy Britton |
| Children | 3 [1] |
| Parent | Mary Teresa Collins |
Laura Angela Collins is a London-based Irish Traveller activist and author.
Collins was born and raised in Bermondsey, London to Irish parents and attended the BRIT School for performing arts and technology.
Her grandmother, Angelina Collins, renamed Angela, is buried in a mass grave in St. Finbarr's Cemetery in County Cork with 72 other women, after working for 27 years in a Magdalene laundry.
Collins has campaigned for her grandmother's exhumation and for apologies from the Irish government and Catholic Church. [2]
Collins' mother, Mary Teresa Collins, is a survivor of the industrial school system in Ireland, and was a child resident of St Vincent's Magdalene Laundry in Cork. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Collins chairs an Irish Traveller led survivor support group, she has published research regarding the Irish Traveller community, and the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, where 800 babies are in a mass grave in Tuam, County Galway. [7] She has also undertaken research on Irish institutions such as industrial schools, mother and baby homes, county homes and the Magdalene Laundries and has been a critic of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation and past investigations into child abuse such as the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and the McAleese Report (formally known as the Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries). [4]
In July 2015 Collins arranged a protest in Dublin she flew over from London with her family to peacefully stand outside the Dáil Éireann. [8] On the day Laura’s mother Mary stated she believes the mass grave her mother is within is filled with Traveller women subjected to the same inhumane treatment that she received while in the Industrial Schools. [9]
In September 2015 Collins had called on the Irish government to fast track the redress scheme for aging survivors, and to grant free legal aid to people taking a case to the Mother & Baby Homes Commission and for the government and the church to support and fund families to remove their loved ones from mass graves and give them their own burial. [10] She wrote to the Minister for Justice calling for justice for the forgotten families of the victims of institutional abuse. [10] Although it was arranged for a meeting with the Justice Department to deliver the letter, as they approach on their arrival the doors were locked. [11]
On 27 January 2017, Collins and her mother held a service at her grandmother's, Angela Collins, mass grave in St. Finbarr's Cemetery for all the women and children who had died within Irish institutions. Collins said to the TheJournal.ie her grandmother was "a good mum and all the children were healthy, Angelina did not go out and rob a shop and got herself arrested – she was a mother caring for her children. All it is based on is she didn’t have a ring on her finger and was a Traveller," Collins said she believes her grandmother was taken into a county home due to being an unmarried Traveller mother. [6]
On 1 March 2017 Irish Travellers gained ethic recognition within Ireland, [12] fours days after it was issued, on 5 March 2017 Collins reported to the Irish Mirror that "There are many, many Traveller community names that appear on that list of 796 babies and children. My mum was treated differently because of who she was. I hate to imagine how many more Traveller children are in unmarked graves in Ireland. It just makes me so angry. This is just the beginning." [6]
On 18 March 2017, The Sunday Mirror and Irish Sunday Mirror quoted her, saying she "had identified 335 known traveller's surnames in the 796 remains buried at the Catholic-run mother and baby home in County Galway". [7]
On 7 June 2017 Collins organised another protest, in which her mother Mary stood outside the Dáil to call for the Treatment of Traveller children to be investigated and acknowledged. Collins said on the day of the protest that the government should look at the Magdalene laundries, mother-and-baby homes and industrial schools together, as it’s believed they were all connected. [13] In June 2017 Collins sent out press releases to media outlets calling for an official apology to the Traveller community by the government on behalf of the effects around the 1963 commission of itinerancy report. [14] [ failed verification ]
Collins has campaigned against the National Maternity Hospital being run by the Religious Sisters of Charity. [15]
Collins chairs the organisations Justice 4 All Women & Children, Mincéir Model’s, and Travelling People Worldwide. [16] She has been interviewed on RTÉ Radio 1, Cork's 96FM, and the Niall Boylan Show. [17]
Collins petitioned to ensure the government do not lock away the records of survivors from Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Ryan report) for 75 years, she said to journalist Anne Sheridan "I started the petition to show the Government that this is not what survivors and the public want, the effects the laundry had on my mum has never gone away. The large Irish community of survivors in England feel very cut off and distanced from this and, again, their voices are not being heard. The abuse for them has never stopped, this is another cover-up," she told Extra.ie. [4]
Collins issued a Retention of Records Bill 2019 submission to the Minister of Education and Skills. [18] Collins and her mother continues to publicly push for an apology to be issued to her community In November 2020 she said to the Echo Live in regards to the Mother and baby home commission: "I hope that the report will be transparent and that people get the access to information that they deserve. Throughout the years, it has all been about secrecy." Collins and her mother Mary believe that her grandmother Angela was "one of many Traveller women who ended up in Irish institutions," and they wonder why this has not been recognized. she said "her mother, grandmother and other Travellers who were put into industrial schools, Magdalene laundries and other institutions should receive an apology from the State for what they went through." [19]
In October 2021, Collins created a campaign called Stop Traveller Hate for Hate Crime Awareness Week in response to concerns that social media platforms are either ignorant of the effects of racism against Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller people or do not view it as an important enough issue to address urgently. The campaign lobbied TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, urging them to take hate speech against Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers seriously.
In July 2023, Collins joined the Traveller Movement as the Women’s Equality Intern, where she worked within the organisation to support the development of the Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN), campaigned against gender-based violence, and worked towards equality for Traveller women. Soon after starting this role, she transitioned into the position of Partnerships Coordinator. Where she led on projects, including the development of toolkits for schools about Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers, and the creation of an inspirational historical timeline highlighting notable Romany Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller women.
On September 2023, Collins organised a screening of Never Going to Beat You at the Irish Embassy in London, focusing on domestic abuse within the Irish Traveller and Romani communities. Following the film, Collins participated in a panel discussion, addressing the importance of educating young people about healthy relationships, and the need for more support for those affected by abuse. The event aimed to raise awareness and stimulate important conversations around these issues.
On November 30th 2024, in response to the treatment of Romany Gypsies and Travellers by Greater Manchester police during the Manchester Christmas markets, Collins organised a protest in London to call for an end to systemic prejudice, as well as for accountability and reform. On the day of the protest, Collins said: “We are demanding accountability for the systemic problem of discrimination and police violence against our communities. We are calling for a full investigation into these abuses and immediate changes to ensure our communities are treated with dignity, respect, and equality,”
In 2019, Collins won the first ever Traveller Pride award (which is arranged by the Irish Traveller Movement), in the intersectionality category, in which was awarded to her by Catherine Corless. [16] [3] [2] [20]
Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house "fallen women". The term referred to female sexual promiscuity or sex workers, young women who became pregnant outside of marriage, or young girls and teenagers who did not have familial support. They were required to work without pay apart from meagre food provisions, while the institutions operated large commercial laundries, serving customers outside their bases.
Mary Norris was a young woman in Ireland who was sent to a Magdalene asylum, where her name was changed and she was imprisoned until removed by an aunt. Norris spent two years performing hard labor in the Good Shepherd Convent, a Magdalene asylum. Norris later came forward and recounted her experiences of abuse in the asylum and also the St Joseph's Orphanage in Killarney.
St. Finbarr's Cemetery in Cork, Ireland, is the city's largest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Ireland which is still in use. Located on the Glasheen Road, it was first opened in the 1860s. The entrance gateway was erected circa 1865, and the mortuary chapel consecrated in 1867.
The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, also known as the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, is a Catholic religious order that was founded in 1835 by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France. The religious sisters belong to a Catholic international congregation of religious women dedicated to promoting the welfare of women and girls.
The Religious Sisters of Charity or Irish Sisters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland on 15 January 1815. Its motto is Caritas Christi urget nos.
Bethany Home was a residential home in Dublin, Ireland mainly for Protestant unmarried mothers and their children, and also for Protestant women convicted of petty theft, prostitution, and infanticide. Most had a Church of Ireland background. The home was run and managed by evangelical Protestants, who, in the main, were Plymouth Brethren, Church of Ireland or Presbyterian. It catered to "fallen women" and operated in Blackhall Place, Dublin (1921–34), and then in Orwell Road, Rathgar (1934–72), until its closure. The home sent some children, some unaccompanied, to Northern Ireland, England, and to the United States.
Sex in a Cold Climate is a 1998 Irish documentary film detailing the mistreatment of "fallen women" in the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. It was produced and directed by Steve Humphries and narrated by Dervla Kirwan. It was used as a source for the 2002 film, The Magdalene Sisters.
The Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, which operated between 1925 and 1961 in the town of Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, was a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their children. The home was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a religious order of Catholic nuns, that also operated the Grove Hospital in the town. Unmarried pregnant women were sent to the home to give birth and interned for a year doing unpaid work.
Catherine Corless is an Irish historian, known for her work in compiling the information concerning the deaths of children at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Galway. After gaining an interest in local history from attending an evening course, Corless decided to write an article about the mother and baby home inspired by her own childhood memories of the institution. She spent her spare time searching records in libraries, churches and council offices, and uncovered that 796 children died in the home. She found death certificates but identified that there were no burial records. The bodies were eventually found to have been disposed of in a disused septic tank on the property. She has received a number of awards in recognition of her work, including a People of the Year Award in 2018. Following the 2020 government report on deaths and abuses at Mother and Baby homes, the Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin called Corless a “tireless crusader of dignity and truth”.
The Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, also known as Magdalene asylums, were institutions usually run by Roman Catholic orders, which operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. They were run ostensibly to house "fallen women", an estimated 30,000 of whom were confined in these institutions in Ireland.
The Glasgow Magdalene Institution was an asylum in Glasgow, Scotland, initially started in 1812 and was open until 1958.
The Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation was a judicial commission of investigation, established in 2015 by the Irish government to investigate deaths and misconduct during the 20th century in mother and baby homes—institutions, most run by Catholic religious nuns, where unwed women were sent to deliver their babies. It was set up following statements that the bodies of up to 800 babies and children may have been interred in an unmarked mass grave in the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, located in Tuam, County Galway. Its remit additionally covered investigation into the records of and the practices at an additional thirteen Mother and Baby Homes. The members of the three-person Commission were Judge Yvonne Murphy (chairperson), Dr William Duncan and Professor Mary E. Daly.
Pope Francis visited Ireland on 25 and 26 August 2018, as part of the World Meeting of Families 2018. It was the first visit by a reigning pontiff to the country since 1979.
Holly Cairns, also known as Holly McKeever Cairns, is an Irish politician who has been leader of the Social Democrats party since March 2023. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork South-West since the 2020 general election. She was a member of Cork County Council for the Bantry local electoral area from 2019 to 2020.
Maeve O'Rourke is an Irish human rights lawyer. She is known for her involvement in seeking access for survivors and adopted people to their own personal data, and the publication of appropriately anonymised administrative files, contained in 'historical' abuse archives in Ireland including the archives of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, the Ryan Commission that investigated Industrial and Reformatory Schools, and the 'McAleese' Committee that inquired into Magdalene Laundries. As of 2020, she lectures in Human Rights Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in NUIG. She is a member of Justice for Magdalenes Research. O'Rourke campaigns on behalf of unmarried mothers and their children. She has represented victims before the Irish Human Rights Commission, and numerous United Nations human rights treaty bodies. In October 2020, she was critical of the Government's statement that it intended to 'seal' information regarding Ireland's mother and baby homes for 30 years.
Mary Teresa Collins is an Irish Traveller survivor of Irish institutions such as the Magdalene laundries, industrial schools and county homes. Collins co-founded the campaign organisation, Justice 4 All Women & Children.
St Vincent’s Magdalene laundry was a laundry run by the Religious Sisters of Charity based in Cork. Beside St Vincent’s laundry is St Vincent’s secondary school that was also run by the sisters.
The Stranorlar County Home or Stranorlar Mother & Baby Home, Stranorlar, County Donegal, Ireland was a home for unmarried women from about 1924 until the 1960s. It was one of 18 institutions investigated as part of the Irish Government's 2021 investigation into abuse and high death rates at mother and baby homes following the discovery of the remains of hundreds of children at Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway who had been buried in a septic tank. Stranorlar was included in the investigation as one of four state-run institutions to provide a representative sample of other similar Homes which were not investigated.
The Bessborough Mother & Baby Home, was a home for mothers and their children that operated in Blackrock, County Cork, Ireland, from 1922 until 1998. It was included in an investigation by the Irish government following the discovery of hundreds of bodies at Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway. The home was run by Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a religious order of Catholic nuns. The home was one of the largest in Ireland, with 9,768 women and 8,938 children being admitted. Forced adoptions are recorded in the report, including children who were adopted to families in the United States in return for cash donations, while over 900 children died. Their bodies were buried in unmarked graves.
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