Kerry babies case

Events

On 14 April 1984, a newborn baby boy was found dead with a broken neck and 28 stab wounds. The body was discovered on White Strand beach at Caherciveen, County Kerry. A woman, Joanne Hayes from Abbeydorney, approximately 80 km away, who was known to have been pregnant, was arrested. She and her family confessed to the murder of the baby but later withdrew their confessions and admitted instead that Hayes's baby had been born on the family farm, had died shortly after birth, and had been wrapped in a plastic bag and buried on the farm in secret. Initially, the Gardai conducted a half-hearted search and declared that no body had been found and that the family's confessions were the true account of what had happened. It was only when a more thorough search was conducted that the body of a baby boy was discovered on the farm. Tests showed that this baby had the same blood type, type O, as Hayes and the baby's (married) father, Jeremiah Locke. However, the baby on the beach had blood group A. The Gardaí nevertheless insisted that Hayes had become pregnant simultaneously by two different men (through heteropaternal superfecundation) and had given birth to both children, killing the one found on the beach. Another theory put forward was that the baby's blood type had changed due to decomposition.

Hayes was charged with murder, but the charge was thrown out by a judge, and the Kerry Babies Tribunal, headed by Mr Justice Kevin Lynch, was set up to investigate the behaviour of the Gardaí in the case. Judge Lynch found that Joanne Hayes killed the baby on the farm by choking it to stop it crying, despite state pathologist Dr John Harbison's inability to determine the cause of death. Judge Lynch rejected claims by the Hayes family that they had been assaulted by Gardaí and that the confessions were obtained through coercion. Joanne Hayes had claimed that Gardaí slapped, threatened, and coerced her into making a false confession, and other family members had alleged that Gardaí used harassment and physical intimidation to get false confessions. Gene Kerrigan commented in 2006, "In the opinion of some, the report never convincingly explained how people who were entirely innocent of any involvement whatever in stabbing a baby should make very detailed confessions that fitted into the facts of the baby found on the beach." The case was also noteworthy for having a psychiatrist admit under oath that the definition of sociopath he had used to describe Joanne Hayes in his testimony would apply to "about half the population of the country".

Repercussions

The case raised serious questions about the culture of the Garda Síochána, and the treatment of unmarried mothers in Irish society. Journalist Nell McCafferty's book about the case was titled A Woman to Blame. Joanne Hayes co-wrote a book with John Barrett about her experience called My Story. Four Gardaí on the case took legal action against the authors and publishers of the book, as well as shops that sold it. They received out-of-court settlements totalling over €127,000.

In the aftermath of the case, the murder squad was disbanded, and the four Gardaí assigned to desk duties, in what was seen as a demotion. In 2004, Joanne Hayes offered to undergo a DNA test to establish that she was not the mother of the baby on the beach. Additionally, one of the officers on the case, Gerry O'Carroll, also sought such a test, saying that he believed the tests would prove the superfecundation theory correct.

The killer of the baby on the beach, later named "Baby John", has never been identified. The gravesite has been repeatedly vandalised, but no suspect has ever been identified for this either. In March 2023, a man and a woman were arrested in connection with the case, with DNA proving they were the parents of Baby John.

Case review

A Garda review of the DNA evidence announced on 16 January 2018, confirmed that Joanne Hayes was not the mother of the infant found at White Strand. Irish national media reported that Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin offered a full verbal and written apology to Joanne Hayes. This was followed by an apology from the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan and the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.

A new investigation into the circumstances of Baby John's death was also launched. In September 2018 it was reported that Gardaí were following up on aspects of the original investigation and engaged in house-to-house inquiries on Valentia Island (the island opposite the beach on which Baby John was discovered), as "part of the general investigation".

In 2020 the State apologised to Joanne Hayes and the Hayes family for their treatment at the hands of the Gardaí and for the false accusations that were levelled at them. Substantial compensation was paid by the state after the family launched proceedings to establish that the findings of wrongdoings by them in the tribunal were unfounded and incorrect. No criminal proceedings have yet been brought against any of the Gardaí involved.

On the morning of 14 September 2021, the remains of Baby John were exhumed by Gardaí at Holy Cross Cemetery, Caherciveen, County Kerry. The baby's remains were taken to the morgue at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee, for examination as part of the ongoing investigation.

On 23 March 2023, Gardaí announced that a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s had been arrested on suspicion of murder in Munster and were being held at Garda stations in relation to the case. DNA tests proved they were the biological parents of Baby John.

In popular culture

In 2016, the Kerry babies case was the subject of a film titled Out of Innocence starring Fiona Shaw and Alun Armstrong and distributed by Mbur Indie Film Distribution. A 2019 scholarly article suggests that unfamiliarity with the poorly-documented "killeen" (or "Cillín") custom (the burial of stillborn babies in unconsecrated ground, which was once prevalent in Kerry) may have been a factor in the case.

In December 2023, the UK television Channel 4 broadcast a documentary of three episodes.

References

Citations

Sources

References

1. (18 December 2020). "Leithscéal gafa le Joanne Hayes agus a muintir faoi chás Leanaí Chiarraí".
2. (24 September 2018). "Gardaí ag caint le daoine i nDairbhre faoi 'Leanaí Chiarraí'". RTÉ.
3. [https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/1218/1185272-joanne-hayes-kerry-apology/ "Kerry Babies: 'Suffering finally behind us' says Hayes"] ({{Webarchive. link. (18 December 2020 ), RTÉ News, 2020-12-18.)
4. (November 2009). "Truth of Kerry babies buried in secrets and lies".
5. "Grim discovery one of three in seven years". Kerryman.ie.
6. (16 January 2018). "Kerry Babies: An unsolved murder 34 years after Ireland put 'womanhood on trial'".
7. Roche, Barry. (16 January 2018). "'Kerry babies' case to be reviewed based on new evidence". The Irish Times.
8. Gene Kerrigan and Pat Brennan (1999). ''This Great Little Nation''. Gill & Macmillan, pp. 177-178. {{ISBN. 0-7171-2937-3.
9. (2018-01-18). "Kerry Babies: Tribunal report was controversial, divisive, and raised more questions than answers".
10. Maguire, Moira J. (Summer 2001). "The changing face of Catholic Ireland: Conservatism and liberalism in the Ann Lovett and Kerry Babies scandals". University of Maryland.
11. Kerrigan, Gene. (4 June 2006). "A cruel new take on Kerry babies". Sunday Independent.
12. Inglis 2003 p.179
13. link. (11 March 2007 . ''[[Sunday Independent (Ireland)). Sunday Independent]]'', 28 November 1999.
14. [http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/06/03/story57830747.asp "Senior officer was linked to all tribunals into garda behaviour"] {{webarchive. link. (10 March 2007 . ''[[Irish Examiner]]'', 3 June 2005.)
15. (14 December 2015). "Fresh hope for solving thirty-year-old mystery of Kerry Babies". Evoke.ie.
16. Reynolds, Paul. (March 23, 2023). "Two arrested on suspicion of murder in Kerry Babies case". RTE.
17. O'Sullivan, Majella. (16 January 2018). "Gardaí apologise to Joanne Hayes for 'stress and pain' of Kerry Babies investigation". Irish Independent.
18. O'Cionnaith, Fiachra. (17 January 2018). "Kerry Babies: Taoiseach apologises to Joanne Hayes and is open to discussing compensation with her". Irish Examiner.
19. O'Sullivan, Majella. (17 January 2018). "Gardaí to seek DNA samples from locals in hunt for Kerry baby killer". Irish Independent.
20. Roche, Barry. (17 January 2018). "Murder inquiry launched into death of 'Baby John' in Kerry in 1984". The Irish Times.
21. Lucey, Anne. (24 September 2018). "Kerry Babies: gardaí start house-to-house enquiries on Valentia". The Irish Times.
22. (18 December 2020). "Kerry babies: Irish state apologises to Joanne Hayes". BBC News.
23. (14 September 2021). "Gardaí exhume remains of baby found dead on Kerry beach in 1984". [[RTÉ News and Current Affairs]].
24. (14 September 2021). "Kerry Baby case: Gardaí exhume remains of Baby John as part of investigation into his death in 1984". [[Irish Independent]].
25. Dalson, Eoghan. (2023-03-23). "Two people arrested on suspicion of murder over 1984 Kerry Babies case". [[TheJournal.ie]].
26. "Out of Innocence (2016)".
27. "Mbur Indie Film Distribution".
28. Mary Burke (2009). “[https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/iur.2019.0404 Tuam Babies and Kerry Babies: Clandestine Pregnancies and Child Burial Sites in Tom Murphy’s Drama and Mary Leland’s The Killeen.] {{Webarchive. link. (9 July 2021 ” Irish University Review 49 (2) 245-61.)