Ireland: Remains of 800 infants expected to be found in former home for unmarried mothers
The remains of nearly 800 infants and young children are expected to be found in a former church-run home for unmarried women, as excavation work began in Ireland earlier this week.
The long-awaited excavation at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, in western Ireland, will shed light on the history of abuses in church-led institutions in the country.
The home was run by an order of Catholic nuns. It closed in 1961. It was one of many such institutions that housed tens of thousands of orphans and unmarried pregnant women who were forced to give up their children throughout much of the 20th century, reported AP.
In 2014, historian Catherine Corless tracked down the death certificates for nearly 800 children who died at the home in Tuam between the 1920s and 1961, but could only find a burial record for one child.
Also read: Mass grave of children found at former Catholic orphanage in Ireland
Investigators later found a mass grave with the remains of babies and young children in an underground sewage structure on the grounds of the home.
The ages of these children ranged from 35 weeks of gestation to 3 years.
In total, 9,000 children died in 18 different mother-and-baby homes across Ireland. These deaths include those from several ailments, including respiratory infections and gastroenteritis, otherwise known as the stomach flu.
Daniel MacSweeney, who leads the exhumation of the babies' remains at Tuam, said survivors and family members will have an opportunity to view the works in the coming weeks.
The remains recovered from the site will be forensically examined. Any identified remains will be returned to family members. Unidentified bodies will be properly buried as per religious conventions.
Annette McKay's sister is believed to be buried at the site. Her mother, Margaret 'Maggie' O'Connor gave birth to a baby, Mary Margaret, at the home after she was raped.
"I don't care if it's a thimbleful, as they tell me there wouldn't be much remains left; at six months old, it's mainly cartilage more than bone,' she told Sky News.
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