Dark history of Tuam mother and baby home as 2-year dig begins to identify 800 babies in historic mass grave exhumation

The Irish Sun

15-07-2025

THE excavation on the grounds of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home began on Monday, 100 years after it was first established in Co Galway.
A team of
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The excavation on the grounds of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home has begun
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A team of Irish and international forensic experts are taking part in the dig
Credit:3
Catherine Corless managed to trace 796 of the babies who died at the home
Credit:They will try to
The site, surrounded by a 2.4 metre-high hoarding, is security monitored on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site during the excavation.
Daniel MacSweeney, who
A visit for families and survivors to view the site ahead of the commencement of the full excavation took place last Tuesday.
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Here, Emma McMenamy looks at the dark history of the Tuam mother and baby home.
1925:
A former workhouse which housed destitute adults and children during the famine was converted into a mother and baby home.
Despite it being owned by
Many women who had children out of wedlock were sent here, one of several institutions that existed and housed those who had been ostracised by Irish society.
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According to research, a child from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home died every two weeks between the years of 1925 and 1961.
1961:
After the building had fallen into disrepair, those who were still there were moved to other institutions and the Tuam Mother and Baby Home officially closed its doors.
Tuam mother and baby home: Catherine Corless's research revealed that 796 children died at St Mary's in Galway
1972:
Work begins on a new council-owned housing estate in the area of the now demolished mother and baby home.
1975:
While playing near the site of the old home, two 12-year-old boys discover skeletal remains in a concrete structure.
Locals assume they are remains from a famine grave and call for a priest to bless the site before it is re-sealed.
Locals believe it is an old burial site and erect a memorial garden and shrine to mark the area.
'VERY HIGH INFANT MORTALITY RATE'
2012:
But she also asks the question why there are no records of where the Tuam babies who died at the home were buried.
2013:
A year later Ms Corless goes about collating the death certificates of a staggering 798 children who died at the home.
She managed to trace 796.
CAMPAIGN CALL
2014:
In February, the regional newspaper, The Connacht Tribune, publishes an interview with Ms Corless about her campaign for a permanent memorial for the babies who died at the Tuam home to include a plaque which would display all 796 infant names.
Two months later, Mail on Sunday journalist Alison O'Reilly published a story claiming that up to 800 bodies could be buried at the site and the article gains massive international attention.
By June, just a few months after the initial interview with Ms Corless about the Tuam babies, the Government announce that it is setting up a nationwide commission of investigation into Ireland's mother and baby homes.
2015:
The commission panel is asked to examine the living conditions in the homes as well as the mortality rates, causes of death and burial arrangements.
TEST DIGS BEGIN
2016:
Test excavations at the site begin as part of the commission of investigation.
2018:
Ms Corless is among those honoured at Ireland's People of the Year Awards.
Minister for Children Katherine Zappone announces plans for a forensic excavation of the Tuam site.
2019:
Four years after being established, the commission outlines its conclusions on burial arrangements at the homes in its fifth interim report and states that a total of 802 children died inside the Tuam Mother and Baby Home while it was open, as well as 12 mothers.
'OPEN TO CHALLENGE'
2020:
President
2021:
The final report of the commission's findings are published and it concludes that about 9,000 children died in the 18 institutions under investigation and it makes 53 recommendations including
In response to the report, the Bon Secours offer their 'profound apologies 'to all the women and children who lived at the Tuam home.
The then-Taoiseach
2022:
The Irish government agreed draft legislation to excavate the Tuam site.
2025:
Excavation finally begins at the Tuam Mother and Baby home site.