Latest news with #Corless
Mint
3 days ago
- Mint
Ireland begins dig at mass grave of 800 babies exposed by historian
After more than a decade of tireless research and ridicule, Catherine Corless—the historian who uncovered the burial site of nearly 800 babies at Tuam, County Galway, beneath a former Irish home for unwed mothers—is finally seeing justice take root. Excavation crews began work this week at the grounds of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, marking a major turning point in one of Ireland's darkest historical reckonings. In an interview with The Irish Times, Corless reflected on her struggle to bring the truth to light. 'It's just beginning to dawn on me now,' she said. 'It has taken a while to sink in.' Her work first gained national attention in 2014, when she uncovered death certificates for 796 children who died at the Tuam home between the 1920s and 1961—but found only one corresponding burial record. Convinced the children's remains were still on site, she pushed for answers while facing relentless opposition. The local backlash was immediate and intense, she reportedly told the news outlet. 'People would cross the street to avoid me,' Corless told The Irish Times. Strangers harassed her in supermarkets, while others accused her of smearing the town's name. 'You're about as credible as Santa Claus. You're a disgrace,' a man wrote in an email to her just days ago, on June 15. 'I hope those nuns bring you to court.' But on Monday, Corless was vindicated. The fenced-off site where the babies' bodies were buried—some inside a decommissioned septic tank—is now under forensic control, with a full-scale excavation underway. In 2017, government investigators confirmed what Corless had long suspected: a mass grave was found beneath the grounds of the home. DNA analysis later revealed the remains belonged to babies and children ranging from 35 weeks gestation to three years old. The home, run by an order of Catholic nuns until its closure in 1961, was one of many institutions in Ireland where unmarried pregnant women were placed—often forcibly—and their children hidden, mistreated, or adopted without consent. 'All those lovely little children and babies, that's the one thing that drove me,' Corless told The Irish Times. 'That's all that was in my mind—these babies in a sewage system, they have to come out.' The broader scandal is staggering: nearly 9,000 children are believed to have died in 18 mother-and-baby homes across Ireland. Most succumbed to illnesses like gastroenteritis, whooping cough, diphtheria, and tuberculosis. But the lack of burial records—particularly in Tuam—points to deep institutional neglect. In 2021, the Irish government issued a formal apology for the mistreatment of women and children in these homes, acknowledging that 'a profound failure of empathy, understanding and basic humanity' had occurred. Daniel MacSweeney, head of the excavation project, said the process is expected to take two years. Families will have the opportunity to view the work as it progresses. Identified remains will be returned to relatives; unidentified remains will be buried respectfully. 'This is not just an excavation,' MacSweeney noted. 'It is a national act of recognition and dignity.' For Corless, that long-overdue dignity is finally beginning to emerge from the soil of Tuam. As she quietly watches the start of the dig she spent years fighting for, her words ring as powerfully now as when she began: 'It's about doing the right thing.'
NDTV
5 days ago
- NDTV
796 Babies Buried Under Shelter Home For Unmarried, Pregnant Women
In Ireland's small town of Tuam, County Galway, authorities will soon start excavating a site believed to be the burial ground of nearly 800 babies and children. A team of investigators has initiated a forensic probe this week. According to Catherine Corless, a local historian, 798 children died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home between 1925 and 1961, but only two were buried in a proper cemetery. The other 796 children are believed to have been dumped in a septic tank, known as the pit, The NY Post reported. Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, also know as The Home, now a modern apartment complex, was demolished in 1971. The unmarried pregnant women were sent to Bon Secours Home to give birth. The Home was run by a group of Catholic nuns who used to take care of both the children and the mothers. After the babies were born, they were taken away from their mothers and handed over to the nuns without the consent of their families. However, the mothers were forced to stay there for a year to do unpaid work. At Bon Secours, the women who became pregnant again were often sent to Magdalene laundries. This institution held women who were tricked or forced into sexual activities, victims of rape or incest, orphaned girls and those abandoned or abused by their families. The tragedy at Bon Secours was uncovered after Ms Corless's findings in 2014. However, the excavation at the site could only begin after the Irish government passed a new law in 2022 allowing it to officially dig the site and search for the remains of the children. Annette McKay, whose sister is thought to be among the 798 victims, told Sky News, "I don't care if it's a thimbleful, as they tell me there wouldn't be many remains left; at six months old, it's mainly cartilage more than bone." The excavation may take up to two years to identify the remains of the infants and rebury them in a dignified manner.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Health
- New Straits Times
Ireland prepares to excavate 'mass grave' at mother and baby home
TUAM, Ireland: Over a decade since a historian discovered an unmarked mass burial site for children at a former mother and baby home in western Ireland, workers finally began on Monday to prepare for extensive excavations. A crew sealed off the site in Tuam, 220 kilometres west of Dublin, in preparation for beginning to dig for any remains next month. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless produced evidence that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, died at Tuam's mother and baby home. Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place -- a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. Significant quantities of baby remains were discovered in an apparently makeshift crypt at the site during test excavations between 2016 and 2017. The home 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 so-called mother and baby home. In findings published in 2021, the commission said there had been "disquieting" levels of infant mortality at the institutions. "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 last month in Tuam. "I was just begging 'Take the babies out of this sewage system and give them the decent Christian burial that they were denied'," she said. Women who became pregnant out of wedlock were siloed in the 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. A team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation. It is tasked with recovering, memorialising and re-burying any remains recovered at the site. Sample DNA will be taken from people who have reasonable grounds to believe the remains are those of a close relative.
New York Post
5 days ago
- General
- New York Post
796 dead babies found hidden in septic tank at home run by nuns: ‘Dirty little secrets'
A quiet, walled patch of grass in the middle of an Irish housing estate is set to reveal the latest disturbing chapter in Ireland's 'mother and baby' home scandal. Beneath the ground at this peaceful spot in the town of Tuam, about 130 miles west of Dublin, significant quantities of human remains have been identified. Advertisement The land, attached to a home run by nuns between 1925 and 1961, was left largely untouched after the institution was knocked down in 1972. 10 Beneath the ground at this peaceful spot in the town of Tuam significant quantities of human remains have been identified. Getty Images But on Monday, excavation crews will seal off the site before beginning the search for remains next month. 'There are so many babies, children just discarded here,' local historian Catherine Corless told AFP at the site. Advertisement It was her discovery of the unmarked mass burial site that led to an Irish Commission of Investigation into the so-called mother and baby homes. 10 The land, attached to a home run by nuns between 1925 and 1961, was left largely untouched after the institution was knocked down in 1972. AFP via Getty Images In 2014, the now 71-year-old produced evidence that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, died at Tuam's mother and baby home. Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place: a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. Advertisement 'There are no burial records for the children, no cemetery, no statue, no cross, absolutely nothing,' said Corless. 10 Excavation crews will seal off the site before beginning the search for remains next month. Getty Images It was only in 2022 that legislation was passed in parliament enabling the excavation work to start at Tuam. 'It's been a fierce battle, when I started this nobody wanted to listen, at last we are righting the wrongs,' said Corless. Advertisement 'I was just begging: take the babies out of this sewage system and give them the decent Christian burial that they were denied,' she added. 10 Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place: a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. REUTERS In findings published in 2021, the Commission of Investigation found 'disquieting' levels of infant mortality at the institutions. Women pregnant outside of wedlock were siloed in the so-called mother and baby homes by society, the state and the Catholic Church, which has historically held an iron grip on Irish attitudes. After giving birth at the homes, mothers were then separated from their children, often through adoption. 10 It was only in 2022 that legislation was passed in parliament enabling the excavation work to start at Tuam. Getty Images The state-backed inquiries sparked by the discoveries in Tuam found that 56,000 unmarried women and 57,000 children passed through 18 such homes over 76 years. The commission report concluded that 9000 children had died in the homes across Ireland. Advertisement Often church and state worked in tandem to run the institutions, which still operated in Ireland as recently as 1998. 10 After giving birth at the homes, mothers were then separated from their children, often through adoption. AFP via Getty Images Homes were run in various ways – some funded and managed by local health authorities and others by Catholic religious orders like the Bon Secours nuns who managed the Tuam home. 'All these babies and children were baptised but still the church turned a blind eye. It just didn't matter, they were illegitimate, that's the stance that they took,' Corless said. Advertisement Analysis at the Tuam site in 2016 and 2017 identified human remains in underground cavities. A commission of investigation later concluded that they were in a disused sewage tank. 10 The commission report concluded that 9000 children had died in the homes across Ireland. Getty Images But it was only in 2022 that legislation was passed in parliament enabling the works to start there. For Anna Corrigan, 70, who was in her mid-50s when she learned that her late mother gave birth in secret to two boys, John and William, in Tuam, the slow process has been 'justice, Irish-style'. Advertisement As no death certificate was ever issued for William, and John's death was not medically certified, the few official documents Corrigan has been able to access have left her with more questions than answers. 10 Homes were run in various ways – some funded and managed by local health authorities and others by Catholic religious orders. Getty Images In her kitchen she showed AFP a copy of a 1947 inspection report of the Tuam home. It described John as 'a miserable emaciated child', even though he was born healthy a year earlier. Advertisement Both could be buried in Tuam according to Corrigan while William may also have been illegally adopted out of the country. 10 In her kitchen she showed AFP a copy of a 1947 inspection report of the Tuam home. AFP via Getty Images 'They prevaricate, they obfuscate, they make it difficult for people to get to the truth,' she said. 'There are dirty little secrets in Ireland that have to be kept hidden, Ireland has a wholesome reputation around the world but there's also a dark, sinister side,' she said. A team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation, tasked with recovering, memorialising and reburying remains recovered at the site once the work starts. 10 It described John as 'a miserable emaciated child', even though he was born healthy a year earlier. AFP via Getty Images Sample DNA will be taken from people who have reasonable grounds to believe they are a close relative. 'I never thought I'd see the day that we'd get over so many hurdles – push them to finally excavate what I call the 'pit', not a grave,' said Corrigan. 'I'm glad it's starting, but if we can even find and identify a certain amount it's not going to give us all closure,' she said.
France 24
7 days ago
- Health
- France 24
Ireland prepares to excavate 'mass grave' at mother and baby home
A crew sealed off the site in Tuam, 135 miles (220 kilometres) west of Dublin, in preparation for beginning to dig for any remains next month. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless produced evidence that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, died at Tuam's mother and baby home. Her research pointed to the children's likely final resting place -- a disused septic tank discovered in 1975. Significant quantities of baby remains were discovered in an apparently makeshift crypt at the site during test excavations between 2016 and 2017. The home 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 so-called mother and baby home. n findings published in 2021, the commission said there had been "disquieting" levels of infant mortality at the institutions. "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 last month in Tuam. "I was just begging 'Take the babies out of this sewage system and give them the decent Christian burial that they were denied'," she said. Babies taken from mothers Women who became pregnant out of wedlock were siloed in the 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. A team was finally appointed in 2023 to lead the Tuam site excavation. It is tasked with recovering, memorialising and re-burying any remains recovered at the site. Sample DNA will be taken from people who have reasonable grounds to believe the remains are those of a close relative. © 2025 AFP
