Ireland’s quiet tragedy: a thalidomide survivor’s story
In 1961, Finola Cassidy's mother was prescribed a new "wonder drug" for morning sickness. It contained thalidomide, which caused miscarriages and severe birth defects in babies around the world.
Weeks after Finola was born, it was withdrawn worldwide. In Ireland, no public warning was issued and the drug remained on shelves for years.
Sixty-five years on, in a moving conversation, Finola talks to Leonie Corcoran about growing up with a disability in 1960s Ireland, the 27 hospital stays of her childhood, the silent burden carried by the mothers who took thalidomide and the lesson in resilience…
The skinny
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