Macabre Find Made at Irish Mother-and-Baby Institution Site
Excavators working at the former St Mary’s Home in Tuam, County Galway, have uncovered seven sets of possible infant remains during the final stages of a two-year excavation.
Background on the Site
The site once housed an Irish mother-and-baby institution, operated by the Bon Secours Sisters from 1925 until 1961. Pregnant women who were unmarried were placed there, and many newborns were subsequently put up for adoption.
Historical Controversy
In 2014, the home attracted international attention after historian Catherine Corless found no burial records matching the 796 infant death certificates issued for the children who died there.
Details of the Excavation
The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (ODAIT) has been conducting the mass excavation to identify children’s and babies’ remains on the site. The newly discovered seven sets of remains were found near a distinct vaulted structure on the western edge of the excavation zone, where work is being done by hand.
ODAIT confirmed, “A full analysis will be carried out to estimate age at death which can take up to three months.”
It remains uncertain if the bones date from the time the institution was operating or from earlier periods.
Summary
This discovery sheds new light on the tragic history of St Mary’s Home as researchers continue to uncover the fate of those lost infants.
Author's summary: The recent uncovering of seven infant remains at Tuam’s former mother-and-baby home highlights ongoing efforts to understand the institution’s complex and somber past.