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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
David Kent

RTE Crimes and Confessions viewers glued to final episode as Kerry Babies scandal gets spotlight

RTE finished up it's Crimes and Confessions series on Monday night by putting a spotlight one of the most controversial cases in Irish history.

The Kerry Babies.

For those of you who are unaware, here's a quick synopsis of the scandal.

The body of a newborn baby, who was later named John, washed up on White Strand in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, on April 14, 1984.

The baby had been stabbed several times.

A post-mortem examination carried out by the then state pathologist, John Harbison, in April 1984 estimated the infant was around five days old, the child had been dead for two days before his body was found by a local man.

The discovery of the baby’s body on the shore, and the subsequent discovery of the body of a second baby on a farm near Abbeydorney in North Kerry became known as the Kerry Babies case.

A local woman, Joanne Hayes, was charged with the murder of baby John in May 1984.

The Kerry Babies was the focus for the final episode of Crimes and Confessions (RTE)

All charges against her were dropped.

Tonight, during the final episode of Crimes and Confessions on RTE, we got another look at the case.

And viewers were left horrified by what they saw.

One person tweeted: "This is bizarre, and a terrible stain on our history

A second added: "Scandalous what went on in Cahersiveen." while a third said: "Absolutely incredible. What a grubby state Ireland was in the 80s."

Another said: "I was a new mother during this. Awful, salacious times."

Another person applauded RTÉ for the documentary series, writing: "This is public service broadcasting at its finest"

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