Man in 80s dies in fire at house in Co Westmeath
A man in his 80s has died following a housefire near Castlepollard in Co Westmeath.
Emergency services were alerted to the fire at about 1am on Wednesday.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was removed to the mortuary at Regional Hospital Mullingar.
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Gardaí are investigating but it is understood that foul play is not suspected.
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Tuam mother and baby home excavation to begin on Monday with search for remains of 796 children who died there
The long-awaited excavation of the Tuam babies site in Co Galway is set to go ahead from Monday. The excavation will take place 11 years after local historian Catherine Corless 's original research revealed that 796 children died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home between 1924 and 1961. A lack of burial records indicated the children could be buried on the site. Just two children were buried in local graveyards. The families involved were invited to visit the site over the last few weeks, as from next week there will be a 2.4-metre hoarding around the perimeter and 24-hour security. READ MORE The families will have an opportunity to view the site works as part of a Family and Survivors Day that the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT) is holding on Monday. The director of the exhumation, Daniel MacSweeney, said the process is likely to take two years and will be a 'unique and incredibly complex excavation'. In 2015, the then-government established the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to examine what happened to women and children in those institutions from 1922 to 1998. A test excavation carried out in Tuam in 2017 discovered a significant amount of human remains in what appeared to be a decommissioned sewage chamber. Tests conducted on the bodies revealed that those who died were between 35 foetal weeks and three years of age, and their deaths dated from the time that the mother and baby home existed. The commission concluded: 'The combination of an institutional boarding home and commingled interments of juvenile remains in a sewage treatment system is a unique situation, with no directly comparable domestic or international cases.' In October 2018 the government announced that it would introduce legislation to facilitate a full excavation of the site. As part of the upcoming excavation process, a multidisciplinary forensic team was recruited. The Sisters of the Bon Secours have offered to give €12.97 million to the Government's redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby institutions. In 2021 it issued an apology stating that the children involved were buried in a 'disrespectful and unacceptable way'. [ Woman was 70 when she found out her early years were spent in Tuam home Opens in new window ] [ 'I was a Tuam baby': Boston man appeals for records detailing his past Opens in new window ] The congregation's area leader, Sr Eileen O'Connor, acknowledged the order were 'part of the system in which they suffered hardship, loneliness and terrible hurt. We acknowledge in particular that infants and children who died at the home were buried in a disrespectful and unacceptable way. For all that, we are deeply sorry'.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Gardaí may investigate if Tuam baby exhumation reveals evidence of unlawful deaths
Gardaí will launch an investigation if forensic specialists excavating the burial site of the Tuam babies uncover evidence that any of the infants died unlawfully. The long-awaited exhumation at the site of the former Bons Secours-run mother and baby home will begin on June 16. Hoarding will be erected around the entire site, situated in the middle of the Dublin Road housing estate, and it will be closed to the public from Monday. The actual dig will start on July 14. The Director of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (ODAIT), who is overseeing the excavation, told the Irish Examiner that if any of the children died unnaturally, or if any remains found do not belong to children who lived at the home, Gardaí will be notified. Cork native Daniel MacSweeney said 'From Monday the area will be under forensic control, we basically have to treat it like a garda investigation. 'If we find evidence that a child died violently, we will be able to call the gardaí through the coroner Val Costello. 'We also have forensic archaeologists and anthropologists like Dr Niamh McCullough on site so they will know if there is an unnatural death. 'Dr Niamh McCullough works with the gardaí all the time and she will be able to say 'Yes that looks violent' and we will notify the coroner who then notifies the gardaí.' The country's first mass exhumation of a children's burial site follows a long-running campaign by families of the children and local historian Catherine Corless. In 2014, Ms Corless's research uncovered the names of the 796 children who died at the home between 1925 and 1961. The remains found during the exhumation will be stored on-site in specially designed, humidity- and temperature-controlled areas. The HSE is due to provide a larger storage facility to the team next year if required. 'We have a storage area on-site and a commitment from the HSE to provide a storage area in January or February,' said Mr MacSweeney. 'We have also a temporary off-site in Headford, if we don't find very much in the first few months, we do have an onsite place." Daniel Mac Sweeney, appointed by the Government as the Director of Authorised Intervention, will head up the independent office overseeing the excavation and recovery of children's remains at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam. Photo: Ray Ryan The Director explained that the exhumation will take place across five designated areas. 'We have to open the ground with a digger and take the soil off in very small layers and that is done with an archaeologist beside the construction team. 'So as soon as they see something of interest, they will begin the recovery, and they have to do that for the entire site". The forensic team will remain on-site for at least 24 months. The dig will start at the playground and finish at the area known as the children's grave, or the green area. 'We don't want to track any vehicles across the site because there could be remains anywhere on that site and if we go to the memorial garden first, we run the risk of damaging any remains that are somewhere else. 'If there is only one area that has remains – and that is the memorial garden it could be quicker than we anticipated.' Any remains recovered will have to be dated, he explained, because 'there could be famine-related remains.' 'We will have to deal with the national museum the coroner and the gardaí we have a scenario and plan for all.' DNA is currently being collected to help identify the children and match them with living relatives. So far, 50 people with a connection to the site — including some from America and Canada — have come forward. To date, 15 people have provided DNA samples, but more are expected once the exhumation begins and a wider campaign is launched. Mr MacSweeney confirmed that only one mother who was incarcerated in the Tuam home has so far provided DNA. The site measures between 4,500 and 5,000 square metres, and each area must be forensically examined. 'We have to be extremely careful and sensitive to maximise the chances of recovering the remains'. Families of the children are expected to visit the site with the Director of Intervention on July 8, with media permitted to attend two days later. 'Nobody will have access to the site during the exhumation,' said Mr MacSweeney. 'What is unique about this is it's a mass grave with infants and it's the age of the children that is different' he explained. 'They are so young and then there is the co-mingling, they are no longer in some cases, individuals, so it is hugely complex. 'We should be able to tell if a deceased child's entire body was placed in a grave and then if the body decomposed in situ versus the bones being moved. We should be able to know how they ended up in the tank when this is finished with the scientific results."
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Cyclist (19) dies after being struck by van in Co Dublin
A 19-year-old cyclist has died after being struck by a van in Co Dublin. The fatal incident occurred at the junction of Griffeen Avenue and Balgaddy Road in Lucan shortly after 7.30am. The young man was treated at the scene before being taken to Tallaght Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. No other injuries were reported. Garda forensic collision investigators are currently examining the scene and traffic diversions are in place. The coroner has been notified and a postmortem is due to take place. READ MORE Road users travelling in the area at the time who may have dash cam footage of the fatal incident, and other witnesses, are asked to contact investigating gardaí. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lucan Garda Station at 01 666 7300, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
