Campaigner Delivers Memoir to Irish Church Leader, Seeks Action on Abuse Compensation

In a poignant bid to catalyze change, Margaret McGuckin, a Belfast campaigner, handed her memoir to the head of Ireland’s Catholic Church.

Her book, titled ‘I Did This For You,’ was given to Archbishop Eamon Martin with a dedication to all children in care systems, especially her late brother Kevin, who endured severe abuse.

“I presented my memoir to Archbishop Martin to make him see our struggle — not just with religious orders but our battles with The Executive Office,” McGuckin shared with the Belfast Telegraph.

She particularly pointed out the failure of two Catholic orders, the Sisters of Nazareth and the De La Salle Brothers, to contribute to the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Redress Board, despite their acknowledgment of abuse in 2014.

Leading the group Savia, which stands for Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse, McGuckin voiced her exasperation with the prolonged fight for justice, lamenting, “There’s no end to it. Victims constantly have to fend for themselves.”

She criticized the hollow apologies offered by these orders, citing a deep-seated mistrust stemming from their prior actions in southern Ireland. “They’ve not even donated to the redress fund… It feels like they’re escaping with minimal repercussions,” she remarked.

Paula Bradshaw, chair of The Executive Office Committee, stressed the situation’s urgency. “It’s crucial that religious orders promptly contribute to redress for their role in harming countless innocent children,” she asserted.