Latest news with #NiamhMcCullagh
Irish Post
a day ago
- Irish Post
Full forensic excavation of Tuam mother and baby home site begins
THE full forensic excavation of the site of a former mother and baby home in Co. Galway has now begun. Preparation works began at the site in Tuam last month. Forensic excavation work is now underway at the site in Tuam, Co. Galway Up to 800 children are beieved to have been buried in a septic tank at the site while it was in operation under the Bon Secours sisters from 1925 to 1961. The excavation, which will exhume the remains of all those buried there, is being led by the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT). Last week families of those connected to the site were invited to view the works so far. Yesterday the actual excavation began, with ground officially broken at the site at 10.38am on July 14. The site will now be entirely closed off to the public and concealed from view for the 24 months the excavation is expected to take. There is 24-hour security in place and a 2.4-metre hoarding erected around the perimeter of the site. A 2.4m hoarding has been installed around the site 'These measures are necessary to ensure the site's forensic integrity and to enable us to carry out the works to the highest international standards that govern the excavation and recovery programme,' Daniel MacSweeney, who leads the ODAIT, said. Dr Niamh McCullagh, ODAIT's Senior Forensic Consultant, is leading the forensic excavation alongside other Irish specialists and international experts from Colombia, Spain, UK, Canada, Australia and the US. 'ODAIT's multidisciplinary forensic approach to the complex challenge of the excavation is grounded in the expertise of forensic archaeologists, osteoarchaeologists, forensic anthropologists together with experts in crime scene management including evidence management and forensic photography,' a spokesperson for the organisation confirmed. See More: Galway, Mother And Baby Home, Tuam
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Excavation to begin at Irish house of horrors mother and baby burial site where 800 child corpses were hidden - as officials warn it will take TWO YEARS to complete the task
International experts will join Irish counterparts to uncover an unmarked mass burial site for children at a former mother and baby home in Tuam in western Ireland, the director of the excavation team said on Monday. Staff from Colombia, Spain, Britain, Canada and the United States have joined the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (ODAIT) team in Tuam, its director Daniel MacSweeney said at a press conference in the town. The full-scale excavation of the site in Tuam - 135 miles west of Dublin - will start next week and is expected to last two years, said MacSweeney. The work at the burial site, which is being undertaken by the ODAIT, will involve exhumation, analysis, identification if possible, and re-interment of the remains of infants who died at the home between 1925 and 1961. Niamh McCullagh, ODAIT's Senior Forensic Consultant, said that the random nature in which remains were buried added to the difficulty. Significant quantities of baby remains were discovered in 20 individual chambers within an apparently makeshift crypt two metres below ground at the site during test excavations between 2016 and 2017, she said. MacSweeney told AFP that the complexity of the task 'is unique as we are dealing with so many sets of infant remains'. DNA samples have already been collected from around 30 relatives, and this process will be expanded in the coming months to gather as much genetic evidence as possible, said MacSweeney. A figurine in the infants graveyard at Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea, Tipperary, which was mother and baby home operated by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary from 1930 to 1970 A 2.4-metre-high hoarding has been installed around the perimeter, which is in the middle of a housing estate built during the 1970s. The site is subject to security monitoring on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site during the excavation. The excavation comes over a decade since a historian discovered the unmarked mass burial site. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless produced evidence that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, had died at the location. Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place - a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. The mother and baby home in Tuam was run by Catholic nuns between 1925 and 1961, and the site was left largely untouched after the institution was knocked down in 1972. It was Corless's discovery of the unmarked mass burial site that led to an Irish Commission of Investigation into the mother and baby home. Women who became pregnant out of wedlock were siloed in so-called mother and baby homes by Irish society, the state and the Catholic church, which has historically held an iron grip on Irish social attitudes. After giving birth at the homes, mothers were then separated from their newborn children, who were often given up for adoption. The state-backed enquiries sparked by the discoveries in Tuam found that 56,000 unmarried women and 57,000 children passed through 18 such homes over the space of 76 years. The commission's report concluded that 9,000 children had died in the homes across Ireland. Often, church and state worked in tandem to run the institutions, which still operated in Ireland as recently as 1998. The ODAIT team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation. 'These children were denied every human right in their lifetime, as were their mothers, and they were denied dignity and respect in death,' Anna Corrigan whose two siblings may have been buried at the site, told reporters. 'We are hoping that today maybe will be the start of hearing them as I think they have been crying for a long time to be heard,' she said.
CTV News
07-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
International team set to excavate Irish mother and baby mass burial site
Excavation Workers begin setting up at Tuam, Ireland, Monday July 7, 2025 ahead of the excavation at St Mary's home for unmarried mothers and their children which which was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, the Catholic nuns based in Tuam. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison) TUAM, Ireland — International experts will join Irish counterparts to uncover an unmarked mass burial site for children at a former mother and baby home in Tuam in western Ireland, the director of the excavation team said on Monday. Staff from Colombia, Spain, Britain, Canada and the United States have joined the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (ODAIT) team in Tuam, its director Daniel MacSweeney said at a press conference in the town. The full-scale excavation of the site in Tuam -- 135 miles (220 kilometres) west of Dublin -- will start next week and is expected to last two years, said MacSweeney. The work at the burial site, which is being undertaken by the ODAIT, will involve exhumation, analysis, identification if possible, and re-interment of the remains of infants who died at the home between 1925 and 1961. Niamh McCullagh, ODAIT's Senior Forensic Consultant, said that the random nature in which remains were buried added to the difficulty. Significant quantities of baby remains were discovered in 20 individual chambers within an apparently makeshift crypt two metres below ground at the site during test excavations between 2016 and 2017, she said. MacSweeney told AFP that the complexity of the task 'is unique as we are dealing with so many sets of infant remains'. DNA samples have already been collected from around 30 relatives, and this process will be expanded in the coming months to gather as much genetic evidence as possible, said MacSweeney. A 2.4-metre-high hoarding has been installed around the perimeter, which is in the middle of a housing estate built during the 1970s. The site is subject to security monitoring on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site during the excavation. Over a decade-long wait The excavation comes over a decade since a historian discovered the unmarked mass burial site. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless produced evidence that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, had died at the location. Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place -- a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. The mother and baby home in Tuam was run by Catholic nuns between 1925 and 1961, and the site was left largely untouched after the institution was knocked down in 1972. It was Corless's discovery of the unmarked mass burial site that led to an Irish Commission of Investigation into the mother and baby home. Women who became pregnant out of wedlock were siloed in so-called mother and baby homes by Irish society, the state and the Catholic church, which has historically held an iron grip on Irish social attitudes. After giving birth at the homes, mothers were then separated from their newborn children, who were often given up for adoption. The state-backed enquiries sparked by the discoveries in Tuam found that 56,000 unmarried women and 57,000 children passed through 18 such homes over the space of 76 years. The commission's report concluded that 9,000 children had died in the homes across Ireland. Often, church and state worked in tandem to run the institutions, which still operated in Ireland as recently as 1998. The ODAIT team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation. 'These children were denied every human right in their lifetime, as were their mothers, and they were denied dignity and respect in death,' Anna Corrigan whose two siblings may have been buried at the site, told reporters. 'We are hoping that today maybe will be the start of hearing them as I think they have been crying for a long time to be heard,' she said.
News24
07-07-2025
- News24
International team begins excavation of mass burial site for children at former Irish mother and baby home
International experts will join Irish counterparts to uncover an unmarked mass burial site for children at a former mother and baby home in Tuam in western Ireland, the director of the excavation team said on Monday. Staff from Colombia, Spain, Britain, Canada and the United States have joined the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (ODAIT) team in Tuam, its director Daniel MacSweeney said at a press conference in the town. The full-scale excavation of the site in Tuam - 220 kilometres west of Dublin - will start next week and is expected to last two years, said MacSweeney. The work at the burial site, which is being undertaken by the ODAIT, will involve exhumation, analysis, identification if possible, and re-interment of the remains of infants who died at the home between 1925 and 1961. Niamh McCullagh, ODAIT's senior forensic consultant, said that the random nature in which remains were buried added to the difficulty. READ | Mom accused of killing, burying child, 2, appeared to love her 'son', colleagues say Significant quantities of baby remains were discovered in 20 individual chambers within an apparently makeshift crypt two metres below ground at the site during test excavations between 2016 and 2017, she said. MacSweeney told AFP that the complexity of the task "is unique as we are dealing with so many sets of infant remains". DNA samples have already been collected from around 30 relatives, and this process will be expanded in the coming months to gather as much genetic evidence as possible, said MacSweeney. A 2.4-metre-high hoarding has been installed around the perimeter, which is in the middle of a housing estate built during the 1970s. The site is subject to security monitoring on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site during the excavation. Over a decade-long wait The excavation comes over a decade since a historian discovered the unmarked mass burial site. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless produced evidence that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, had died at the location. Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place - a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. The mother and baby home in Tuam was run by Catholic nuns between 1925 and 1961, and the site was left largely untouched after the institution was knocked down in 1972. It was Corless's discovery of the unmarked mass burial site that led to an Irish Commission of Investigation into the mother and baby home. Women who became pregnant out of wedlock were siloed in so-called mother and baby homes by Irish society, the state and the Catholic church, which has historically held an iron grip on Irish social attitudes. After giving birth at the homes, mothers were then separated from their newborn children, who were often given up for adoption. The state-backed enquiries sparked by the discoveries in Tuam found that 56 000 unmarried women and 57 000 children passed through 18 such homes over the space of 76 years. The commission's report concluded that 9 000 children had died in the homes across Ireland. Often, church and state worked in tandem to run the institutions, which still operated in Ireland as recently as 1998. The ODAIT team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation. "These children were denied every human right in their lifetime, as were their mothers, and they were denied dignity and respect in death," Anna Corrigan whose two siblings may have been buried at the site, told reporters. "We are hoping that today maybe will be the start of hearing them as I think they have been crying for a long time to be heard," she said.
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Richard Satchwell trial: Gardaí ignored ‘red flags' in Tina Satchwell murder investigation
'Red flags' emerged soon after the disappearance of Tina Satchwell that were 'simply ignored' by gardaí, the murder trial of her husband Richard Satchwell heard. Concerns about the Garda investigation into Ms Satchwell's disappearance were raised in the closing stages of the murder trial of her 58-year-old husband . His defence barrister, Brendan Grehan SC, said in his closing speech to the trial that the case was full of 'what ifs' and 'a lot of failures' by gardaí and it was 'simply beyond me' why gardaí were not in the Satchwell home soon after Ms Satchwell went missing in 2017. He suspected it was also simply beyond those gardaí became involved at a later stage in the investigation, he said. READ MORE [ 'Tina had no way of getting away from him': The full story of the Richard Satchwell murder trial Opens in new window ] [ 'Tina was portrayed in a way that is not true to who she was': Tina Satchwell's family describe 'kind, loving and gentle soul' Opens in new window ] The defence lawyer's opinion appeared to be endorsed by forensic archaeologist Dr Niamh McCullagh, who was asked in 2021 – four years after Ms Satchwell's disappearance – to review the files in the case. The review was requested by Supt Annmarie Twomey, who was not involved in the investigation until she was asked to take charge of it in August 2021. She and Det David Kelleher, who was also assigned to the investigation in 2021, brought what Mr Grehan described as 'new energy' to it. He said matters had progressed, 'though extremely cautiously', and said he still wondered at the reason for its 'pedestrian' pace up to October 2023 when Ms Satchwell's remains were uncovered. Supt Twomey had said, while gardaí believed by February 2022 that Ms Satchwell was dead and had never left her home and, by August 2022, that Satchwell should be arrested, there were 56 other lines of inquiry that had to be exhausted first. There were about 60 reported sightings of Ms Satchwell in Ireland and abroad after her disappearance, the trial heard. Dr McCullagh told the jury of research into domestic homicides that showed they often involved a pattern – as happened in the Satchwell case – of a false narrative and a missing-person report. Her own research into cases of 'concealment homicide' in Ireland found that most female victims were found within a kilometre of their home. [ The full story of the Richard Satchwell murder trial Opens in new window ] Mr Grehan said such findings hardly came as news to gardaí or to many others. Gardaí 'hardly needed' to be told what happened when a wife went missing, he said, which was that a missing-person report is 'not taken at face value' and 'every police force in the world looks at the husband'. He expected most people would hope, if they ever went missing, for a 'greater level of inquisitiveness' from gardaí. Brendan Grehan, left, and solicitor Eddie Burke outside Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire Mr Grehan accepted that Satchwell was the author of – and biggest contributor to – the delay in finding his wife's remains but said there was 'more than enough blame for that delay to go around'. That influenced the manner in which some of the investigation was dealt with, he said. Dr McCullagh pointed to a 'red flag' at the Satchwell home during a search of the property by gardaí in June 2017: evidence of 'home renovations' and of a new red brick wall at the side of the stairs. There was no invasive search of the property at that point but gardaí seized a laptop and other items. An examination of that laptop showed another potential red flag: a YouTube video about the interaction of quicklime, which can disguise decomposition odours, with water was watched twice on March 24th, 2017. The trial heard the laptop was examined by gardaí in 2021 but it was unclear from the evidence whether there was an earlier examination of it. The jury did not hear a detailed explanation about why the June 2017 search of the property was not invasive. Supt Twomey said she did not know what the focus of the investigation was at that stage. It was still a missing-person investigation. She also noted laptops and other items were seized from the Youghal property. After her review of the files, Dr McCullagh recommended an invasive excavation of the house, to include the use of ground radar technology and a cadaver dog. Supt Twomey acted on that recommendation, and a specialist team, including gardaí, Dr McCullagh, a forensic anthropologist and a cadaver dog, entered the property on October 10th, 2023. The cadaver dog showed interest in the area under the stairs. Det Brian Barry and a builder noted different concrete in the area under the stairs and poor brick work in the red brick wall alongside the stairs. The concrete was then broken up and black plastic was observed in what turned out to be a grave site about a metre deep. A painstaking excavation was then undertaken by hand and, on the evening of October 11th, the skeletal remains of Tina Satchwell were found.
