Narrativized discursive legitimation: Comment on the Mother and Baby Homes report

Abstract

After almost 6 years of research, the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes (MBH) was published on 12th January this year (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, 2021). Alongside the Ryan and McAleese reports, this is the third major document inquiring into Ireland ’ s institutional past. As such, it is of utmost societal and sociological signi fi cance. Issues with the fi nal text of the report have been raised since immediately following its release. The inspiration for the current re fl ections arose from a panel discussion on Today with Claire Byrne (2021) on 15th January. Here, the archivist Catriona Crowe outlined two initial critiques of the document. First, she pointed to the fi nal conclusions of the report as being, on the whole, unsatisfactory with regard to the matter under review. This is especially the case with regard to the pertinent questions of coercion, physical abuse, and forced adoption. Second, while praising the document as a research achieve-ment, she raised concerns about its methodology. Here, Crowe pointed towards the manner in which the Con fi dential Committee had compiled the witness testimonies alongside the objectivistic legalistic language of the Report and curious narrativization of the text. While the legalistic language became a subject in wider public discussion, the issue of narrativization has been less explored. This is deserving of serious sociological analysis. Herein, I brie fl y take this up from a communication-theoretical, social semiotic perspective (Hodge and Kress, 1988), showing concern for the way in which the Report constructs and seeks to impart knowledge of the historical reality under