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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Bons Secours Sisters release Tuam archives for first time as site excavation begins
The Bons Secours Sisters have opened their archives for the first time to allow forensic experts to review files from the former Tuam mother and baby home, where 796 children died over 40 years. It comes as a specialised forensic team assembled from Ireland as well as Canada, Colombia, Spain, the UK, and the US begin the long-awaited exhumation of the Tuam babies' burial ground, which will take at least two years. In 2014, it emerged nearly 800 children had died in the former institution that housed unmarried mothers. Many of these children were forcibly adopted after birth. Research led by local historian Catherine Corless indicated that 796 babies and young children died at the Co Galway institution from 1925 to 1961. The St Mary's home for unmarried mothers and their children was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a religious order of Catholic nuns. Director of the Tuam Intervention, Daniel MacSweeney, and senior forensic consultant and forensic archaeologist, Dr Niamh McCullough, spoke on Monday as media from around the world came to Tuam. Mr MacSweeney said the nuns have given the team access to the religious order's documents. 'We needed to and wanted to get access to their archives. There will be a lot of information from various archives that will help us to understand what happened," he said. It is about having multiple sources of information. We will obviously have information that comes from the site, from the excavation, whether that is human remains or artefacts. 'It's really by cross-checking all of this information that allows us to attempt to answer these questions. Even if it is partial identification, that will help us establish a cause of death.' Mr MacSweeney said he has had around 40 to 50 contacts about DNA over the past two years, and more than 30 people have contacted his office in the past month. Families of the Tuam Babies and survivors from the home will have a private visit to the site on Tuesday. Mr MacSweeney said this will be 'the most important event of the week'. He described the forthcoming landmark construction works as 'the most challenging exhumation we have ever worked on, and we want to get it right.' The budget for the works this year is €9.4m, of which €2m was spent on the project in 2024. In 2016 and 2017, it was confirmed by forensics following test excavations in Tuam that a significant quantity of human remains was found at the site that dated to when the home was in operation. The children were aged between 35 foetal weeks, and two to three years old. Mr MacSweeney said he does not know until the area is excavated whether all of the children will be found during the process, which will take at least two years. 'We just want to get it right and we will have to see what we find," he said. Anna Corrigan, whose two brothers died in the home, was also in attendance. She criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin, children's minister Norma Foley, and President Michael D Higgins for not being in attendance. It's a momentous day, for our loved ones and not a single member of government is here. hat is appalling that they are not here. Ms Corless, the historian who uncovered the names of the children, said she was 'overjoyed' that the exhumation was taking place and that she could 'never have given up on the little children.' "It is huge for me to know those babies are finally going to get the dignity they deserve - it is a wrong put right," she said. In 2021, Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivered an apology on behalf of the state for the treatment of women and children who were housed in mother and baby homes across Ireland. The Bon Secours Sisters also offered a "profound apology" after acknowledging the order had "failed to protect the inherent dignity" of women and children in the Tuam home. Read More International experts join mass grave excavation at Tuam mother and baby home
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Science
- RTÉ News
Experts prepare to start formal excavation at site of Tuam Mother and Baby Home
A team of international experts is preparing to commence a formal excavation at the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway. Those overseeing the process say they hope it will add "depth and detail" to questions that persist around burial practices at the home over a 36-year period. Forensic anthropologists and archaeologists from Columbia, Spain, the UK, Australia and the United States have joined Irish counterparts in recent weeks to take part in the process. They have been participating in pre-excavation briefings over the last fortnight, before ground is broken at the site in the Dublin Road estate next week. It is expected to take at least two years to complete the dig. A media briefing to provide an update on the work is being held this morning. It has attracted a large number of local, national and international news outlets. The Director of the Office for Authorised Intervention in Tuam (ODAIT), Daniel MacSweeney, has again emphasised the importance of ensuring that survivors and relatives of those who lived and died in the Tuam Home are at the centre of the process. They will take part in a private visit to the location where the works will take place tomorrow. Mr MacSweeney said the first objective was to recover all of the human remains from the site and to re-bury them with dignity. Where possible, the remains will be identified and returned to their families. He said the complexity of the task could not be underestimated, given the size and nature of the site in question. Dr Niamh McCullagh, the Senior Forensic Consultant who will oversee the excavation and exhumation process, said the random nature in which remains were buried added to that difficulty. She already carried out preliminary excavations at the site in 2016 and 2017, which revealed the presence of 20 individual chambers two metres below ground. Each contained co-mingled (mixed) skeletal remains of children, aged between 35 foetal weeks and around three years of age. Dr McCullagh said that while radio carbon dating on some bones places their time of living between 1925 and 1961, they have lost their "skeletal order", further complicating the process. For this reason, the skeletal identification is one of the most significant challenges. DNA samples have already been collected from a small number of relatives and this process will be expanded in the coming months to gather as much genetic evidence as possible. The Bon Secours Sisters, which operated the Home for Galway County Council, has provided the ODAIT with its archive. This will be cross referenced with other records available as the process continues.
Irish Examiner
31-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Tuam babies' burial site to be sealed off as mass grave exhumation begins in June
The entire burial site of the Tuam babies will be forensically sealed off and monitored around the clock, as specialist teams prepare for Ireland's first exhumation of a mass grave next month. In an email sent Friday evening to the Tuam Babies Family Group, which includes many relatives of those buried at the site, the Director of the Intervention said his team is 'still on track to begin the excavation of the site in the second half of June' — although a start date has not yet been confirmed. Daniel MacSweeney who was appointed to oversee the exhumation two years ago, explained that 'Once works start, the entire site will be forensically sealed. We will erect 2.4-meter hoarding and put in place 24-hour security monitoring'. He continued 'It is expected that the works on the site may take up to 24 months to complete. 'During this time, the Memorial Garden will not be accessible. If you would like to visit the Memorial Garden, you should try to do so before mid-June.' The exhumation follows 11 years of public pressure after local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the names of 796 children believed to be buried on the grounds of the former mother and baby home. The institution, which primarily housed unmarried mothers, was run by the Bons Secours nuns on behalf of Galway County Council. It operated between 1925 and 1961. After the nuns sold the land and left Tuam, the children who died there were left buried on the property. A test excavation carried out in October 2016 and January 2017 revealed a "significant quantity of human remains" — belonging to babies aged between 35 foetal weeks and 2 to 3 years. Read More Oldest survivor of Tuam mother and baby home to purchase first home after fundraising appeal The remains were found dumped in 18 of 20 chambers of a disused sewage tank. This discovery sparked international outrage and was reported across major global news outlets. Tuam Mother and Baby home survivor Carmel Larkin, aged 70 attends to flowers left at the Virgin Mary shrine as a vigil is held at the Tuam Mother and Baby home mass burial site on August 25, 2019 in Tuam, Ireland. Picture:The intervention has come after more than a decade of campaigning from families of children who died there as well as Ms Corless. Mr MacSweeney told families and survivors: 'I am writing to update you, the people most impacted by the former Mother and Baby institution in Tuam, about the intervention.' He said this is 'the first step towards restoring dignity in death to those inappropriately buried at the site. We will confirm the exact date very soon.' Family members of the children who died in Tuam as well as survivors will be invited to the first perimeter of the forensically sealed site on July 8. Mr MacSweeney explained that 'additional dates will be added if needs be.' A family liaison officer, Paula Kennedy has been appointed to support families with details for the visits. He continued: 'I also want to let you know that we have begun further engagement with the Tuam Community and in particular the residents near the estate adjoining the Memorial Garden. 'We will host an information evening on 6th June. Most residents have received further information relating to the site works and the Information Evening.' Anna Corrigan, who was at the heart of the original exposure of the Tuam babies' burial scandal alongside Catherine Corless, said: 'It is almost surreal that this is happening. It is a day we thought would never arrive — and now it's happening next month. 'It is a small light at the end of the tunnel, I hope we find all of the children and that the mothers and my own mother included, Bridget Dolan, will be given some form of justice for what was perpetrated on them and the children will have some dignity in death. 'We still have to wait to see what is uncovered and how many children will be found, how many will be identified, or will we be left with lingering questions when this is all over.' Further information can be found on
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Exhumation of Tuam babies' mass grave to begin in June, confirms intervention director
The long-awaited exhumation of the Tuam babies' mass grave will get underway in June, the Director of the Authorised Intervention has revealed. A statement issued on Tuesday morning on behalf of Daniel MacSweeney, who is leading the works in Co Galway, said the intervention – the first of its kind in Ireland – 'is due to start in the second half of June this year, pending the appointment of the excavation contractor.' Mr MacSweeney said he expects to confirm exact dates in mid-May when the excavation contractor and forensic team have spoken to the 'families of people who were in the Tuam institution, survivors, advocates, residents living in proximity to the site, and others who have been most impacted.' He explained that the burial site will be 'forensically sealed at all times during the excavation," and that the team is "hoping to facilitate on-site visits for survivors and family members at the beginning of the excavation.' In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the names of 796 children who died in the religiously run home from 1925 to 1961. Since then, a number of test excavations in 2016 and 2017 confirmed that the remains of children found at the site were from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. When the nuns sold the land in the early 2000s, they exhumed the remains of their colleagues who were buried in the nearby Bon Secours private hospital but left the children in the mass grave. There was outrage all over the world when the story emerged that 796 children were buried in large chambers in a septic tank on the grounds of the home and were not given a proper burial. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the names of 796 children who died in the religiously run home from 1925 to 1961. Picture: Laura Hutton/ A Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate the circumstances of 14 homes and four county homes, and survivors received a State apology in 2021. Families and campaigners have long called for the children to be removed from the site and given a proper burial. Mr MacSweeney added: 'Our work is centred around the people and groups who have been most impacted by the former Mother and Baby institution in Tuam. 'This includes families, survivors, and the Tuam community. Our work will be conducted in accordance with international standards and best practice, and in keeping with our core values. 'Substantial and meaningful planning has gone into this unique and incredibly complex excavation. As part of this, we are in the process of appointing a talented, high-calibre multidisciplinary forensic team and a main excavation contractor. 'The excavation will take place in two parts. Further details on the forensic approach being taken will be shared at the start of the excavation.' Annette McKay's sister, Mary Margaret O'Connor, died while in the Tuam home in 1943. She told the Irish Examiner, 'I am absolutely delighted that finally we have concrete news. 'It is very emotional considering it has taken us over 10 years to get to this point, where we finally might see the end of a terrible story and we can lay these little ones to rest.' For more information about the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, see
