A second burial site for an infant has been discovered at the site of a so-called “mother and baby home” in the west of Ireland, forensic experts said on Friday, marking a “significant” discovery in ongoing excavations on the site of the facility.
Over 36 years, nearly 800 infants and children have died at the Tuam facility run by the Bon Secours Sisters. Their bodies are believed to have been disposed of in a mass grave.
The discovery was made in 2014 by local historian Catherine Corless, who discovered that 796 infants had died without burial records at a facility in County Galway and were housed in decommissioned sewage tanks.
Excavation work began this summer, overseen by the independent Office of the Director of Authorized Interventions at Tuam (ODAIT).
ODAIT said in its latest update that forensic experts had found “consistent evidence” of a second burial site.
“Prior to excavation, there were no surface or ground-level indications of a possible burial site at this site,” the report said.
Ireland opens mass grave of 796 infants
Director Daniel McSweeney told national broadcaster RTE on Friday that the second burial ground was about 50 to 100 meters from the septic tank.
Since excavations began in July, the remains of 11 infants have been discovered, including the remains of four infants discovered last month, ODAIT said. Their bodies were then placed in coffins and sent for forensic analysis.
McSweeney said 160 people have contacted ODAIT to provide DNA to help identify the remains. He called on other eligible families to come forward and do the same.
The Tuam facility was one of dozens of ‘homes’ where pregnant Irish girls and unmarried women were sent to give birth in secret for most of the 20th century.
Women were often forcibly separated from their children. Hundreds died and their bodies were discarded, although some infants were moved to Ireland, England, or as far away as the United States, Canada, and Australia. Mothers often have no idea what happened to their babies.
In 2015, the Irish government began investigating 14 single-parent homes and four council homes, and found a “significant amount” of human remains at the Tuam site. The investigation found “alarming levels of infant mortality” within the facility, which it said were “known to local and national authorities” and “recorded in official publications”, but the government had not issued a warning to the facility.
The report said that before 1960, single-parent families “did not save the lives of ‘illegitimate’ children; in fact, it appears to have significantly reduced their chances of survival.” A state investigation led to a formal government apology in 2021, the announcement of a rescue plan, and an apology from the Sisters of Bon Secours.
As excavations continue at Tuam, supporters and survivors are calling on the government to ensure that other sites are also fully investigated.
Forensic operations at Tuam are expected to last for two years.
Editor’s note: If you have information to share regarding this story, please contact ODAIT here.
