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France 24
14-07-2025
- France 24
Excavations begin at child mass grave site in Ireland
The planned two-year probe by Irish and foreign experts in Tuam comes more than a decade after an amateur historian first uncovered evidence of a mass grave there. Subsequent 2016-2017 test excavations found significant quantities of baby remains in a subterranean disused septic tank at the location, which now sits within a housing complex. Catholic nuns ran a so-called "mother and baby" institution there between 1925 and 1961, housing women who had become pregnant outside of marriage and been shunned by their families. After giving birth, some children lived in the homes too but many more were given up for adoption under a system that often saw church and state work in tandem. Oppressive and misogynistic, the institutions -- which operated nationwide, some not closing until as recently as 1998 -- represent a dark chapter in the history of once overwhelmingly Catholic and socially conservative Ireland. A six-year enquiry sparked by the initial discoveries in Tuam found 56,000 unmarried women and 57,000 children passed through 18 such homes over a 76-year period. It also concluded that 9,000 children had died in the various state- and Catholic Church-run homes nationwide. Records unearthed show as many as 796 babies and young children died at the Tuam home over the decades that it operated. Its grounds have been left largely untouched after the institution was knocked down in 1972 and housing was built there. 'A fierce battle' "These children were denied every human right in their lifetime, as were their mothers," Anna Corrigan, whose two siblings may have been buried at the Tuam site, told reporters earlier this month. "And they were denied dignity and respect in death." Ireland's Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (ODAIT) will undertake the excavation, alongside experts from Colombia, Spain, Britain, Canada and the United States. It will involve exhumation, analysis, identification if possible, and re-interment of the remains found, its director Daniel MacSweeney told a recent press conference in Tuam. It follows local historian Catherine Corless in 2014 producing evidence that the 796 children -- from newborns to a nine-year-old -- had died at the home. State-issued death certificates she compiled show that various ailments, from tuberculosis and convulsions to measles and whooping cough, were listed as the cause of death. Corless's research indicated the corpses were likely placed in the disused septic tank discovered in 1975, while prompting the state-backed enquiries that have uncovered the full scandal of the homes. The ODAIT team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation. 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, according to MacSweeney. A 2.4-meter-high (7.9 feet) hoarding has been installed around the perimeter of the excavation area, which is also subject to 24-hour security monitoring to ensure its forensic integrity. "It's been a fierce battle. When I started this nobody wanted to listen. At last we are righting the wrongs," Corless, 71, told AFP in May.
BBC News
02-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Maternal mental health: Calls for specialist unit in Northern Ireland
A new mother who was detained in a psychiatric hospital for five weeks says she "felt like a prisoner" because she was separated from her Browne, who had postpartum psychosis, was admitted under a mental health order after giving birth three years Great Britain mothers are cared for in specialist mother and baby units, but women in Northern Ireland are admitted to general psychiatric wards, separated from their business case for a mother and baby unit is months overdue, but the Department of Health (DoH) said it was well developed. However, it has also warned any future unit is dependent on funding being told BBC Spotlight she felt "lonely" and "pathetic" after being dropped off at the door of the Ulster Hospital psychiatric ward without her daughter, but said staff tried their best."I went in voluntarily and it was just the loneliest feeling in the world getting dropped off at a mental health ward with a bag and no baby," the 35-year-old year, about 100 women in Northern Ireland are admitted to adult psychiatric wards for similar care, without their babies. What is postpartum psychosis? A rare but serious mental health illness that can affect any motherSymptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, manic and low moods, loss of inhibitions, restlessness, out-of-character behaviour and confusionIf left untreated the condition can get rapidly worse and lead to mothers harming the baby, themselves or othersThe most severe symptoms usually last between two and 12 weeks but recovery can take several monthsSOURCE: NHS "I was a mother without her child and I felt like a prisoner," said Shelley."She wasn't with me, and I was in a mental facility. And it just broke me every morning."Seven health ministers have supported the idea of a mother and baby unit in Northern Ireland, but funding has never been found. Danielle Sands refused hospital treatment to stay with her first son, Joe, in she relied on specialist community teams."They had made it very clear that when I would go in there, I wouldn't have my Joe with me.""There was voices in my head 24/7, and they were negative," she said."Telling me everything I couldn't do, I wasn't good enough." Danielle and her partner, Nial, were supported by a community specialist perinatal mental health term perinatal covers the period of time from when a woman becomes pregnant, and up to a year after giving birth. Each of Northern Ireland's five health trusts receive more than 250 referrals for the community services each year, but because of staffing pressures they can only accept about 70 patients at a Julie Anderson, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, estimates the number of women admitted to hospital could double or triple if a mother and baby unit was established."It's really, really frustrating knowing that there's much better care that our mums should be getting here in Northern Ireland," she said."And frankly, to be honest, somewhat embarrassing that we've been talking about this for almost 20 years and we're still not there yet." In 2018, Orlaith Quinn died at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in 33-year-old had given birth to her third child, a daughter, less than 48 hours Graham said her daughter began showing signs of postpartum psychosis shortly after giving birth."To go in and have a baby and come back out in a coffin, and you've three children left without their mother, it's just not a position you think you'll ever find yourself in a million years," she body was found in a part of the hospital that is unused at night. She had taken her own life. A 2022 inquest concluded Orlaith's death had been "foreseeable and preventable" and that there were a number of missed opportunities in her care and a statement, the Belfast Health Trust said it would like to extend a sincere and unreserved apology to Orlaith's added its maternity team would like the opportunity to meet Orlaith's family to offer an apology in trust said it was committed to learning from Orlaith's death and had put in place a training programme to help staff recognise the wider spectrum of perinatal mental health disorders, and the risk of maternal Maria Dougan tied the death to the absence of a mother and baby unit, finding that one should be established in Northern Ireland. Consultant perinatal psychiatrist, Dr Jo Black, who is originally from Cookstown, was instrumental in setting up a mother and baby unit in eight-bed unit, the layout and decor of Jasmine Lodge means it does not feel has areas for families to visit, and a team of said it was "extraordinary" there is not a similar unit on the island of Ireland."All of our evidence shows us that maternal suicide remains a major killer in the maternity period," she said."We can't shy away from that, and so these units save lives." 'Poor data collection' Between 2021 and 2023, 34% of late maternal deaths have been linked to mental health, according to a report by MBRRACE-UK, which includes Northern Ireland. A late maternal death is when a woman died between six weeks and one year after is currently thought more than 3,500 women develop perinatal mental illness in Northern Ireland each poor data collection could mean the need for perinatal mental health services is being underestimated, according to Dr Julie has confirmed the Department of Health has yet to implement a 2017 recommendation from the health regulator to improve data the time, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) said patient coding should be Department of Health said a review of coding practices for perinatal mental health conditions, and related hospital admissions, was planned. If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Actionline website.
