HSE has no burial records for 80 mother and baby home children who died at Galway hospital
Research uncovered by local history Catherine Corless in 2014, showed there are death certificates for 796 children who died in the Bons Secours Catholic-run home between 1925 and 1961.
A Commission of Inquiry which was established following the emergence of the scandal also found a further 80 children died in the former Galway Central hospital after being admitted from the Tuam home.
Ms Corless could not find any burial records for the children in Tuam and test excavations at the former grounds of the institutions for unmarried mothers in 2016 found a 'significant quantity of human remains' in a disused sewage tank.
The country's first ever mass grave exhumation began at the site on July 14 and is expected to take at least two years.
The Irish Examiner requested information on the remainder of the children who died when they were moved from Tuam to Galway hospital and other surrounding hospitals — or were born there as a result of complications in pregnancy.
The Commission's findings show 80 children died in the Galway Central hospital, eight children died in other hospitals and a further 80 died in the Glenadmaddy institution that preceded the Tuam home.
The HSE North West said: 'There are no documented process for the burial of babies historically. The only known practice for the burial of babies by the hospital is that they would have been buried in Bothermore Cemetery, in the area known as the Plot of the Angels.
'Regrettably the hospital burial records are incomplete as the significance of this was not fully appreciated until more recent years.'
'I don't know what happened to him'
One of the 80 children who died while in Galway Central hospital is 94-year-old Christina Tully's son Michael who was stillborn following a complex breech delivery.
Ms Tully, who is from Loughrea, was 18 at the time. She said: 'I never saw him, they just said, 'the baby has died' and that was it.
'I have prayed for him all my life but I don't know what happened to him. His father was not the marrying type but I had a second baby with him and he was taken and adopted. I wanted to keep both of the boys."
Patrick Naughton who was born Christopher Tully after his brother and adopted by the nuns, found his mother Ms Tully more than a decade ago and they have tried to locate Michael's place of burial or whereabouts ever since.
'With all the forced adoptions and the question mark over falsifications of deaths certs Michael could be alive and the closer my mother comes to death the more she has to face two dilemmas — he is either in the mass grave somewhere or adopted illegally," said Mr Naughton.
"It is utterly unacceptable that the hospital has no records for these children."
Ms Tully requested information from Galway hospital about her son's death but there is only one record in existence that states 'return to the Tuam home'.
'That could mean anything, those words have tortured me', she explained. 'And now the hospital says they have no records at all. So where is my child will I ever find out?'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘Shocking act of cruelty' – President Michael D Higgins speaks out on Hamas hostage videos
In a statement this evening he also addressed the ongoing deprivation of medicine and food to citizens in Gaza. Mr Higgins' statement this evening came after Hamas released a video showing an emaciated hostage Evyatar David (24) in a narrow tunnel. Mr David was captured by Hamas at a music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023. Mr David is seen digging what he believes will be his own grave. Hamas blames the blockade on Gaza for cutting off food and other resources, which has led the region into famine-like conditions, while Israel says the group is deliberately starving hostages. Images of the hostages as well as starving children in Gaza have been met with condemnation from world leaders. Mr Higgins said the hostage videos were ' a shocking act of cruelty and reflects not only on those responsible for such actions but damages any cause to which they attach themselves. 'We are now in a position of seeing the nadir of human behaviour with images like these occurring at the same time as children are deprived of medicine and mothers are deprived of water and the necessary means of addressing malnutrition as they watch their children die. 'All of these actions must not just receive the opprobrium of the world, but must lead to practical actions that cannot wait until September to be addressed. 'I repeat the suggestion which I have made previously with regard to how Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter may provide a mechanism for ensuring safe access of aid.' Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said. ADVERTISEMENT Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, which is in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the conflict began. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today he spoke with the International Red Cross's regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources told the Reuters news agency that many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to health officials there. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Agriland
2 days ago
- Agriland
HSE advises public not to touch sick or dead wild birds
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is advising the public not to touch or handle any sick or dead wild birds, because of the risks of avian influenza (bird flu). The warning follows confirmation from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) that bird flu had been discovered in a backyard flock in Co. Donegal. There are no trade implications for the Irish poultry industry in relation to this detection, due to the very small size of the flock. Bird flu is a type of influenza that primarily affects wild birds and poultry, and which can also occasionally infect some mammals and humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a type of avian influenza that can cause high levels of illness and deaths in birds. Of the many strains of HPAI viruses, the H5N1 virus is widely regarded as the most serious for both birds and humans. Since 2003, there have been nearly 1,000 human cases of H5N1, half of whom have died. According to the HSE it is "very unusual for people to catch bird flu, but it can happen". "Currently, it is hard to catch avian influenza from a bird or animal, and there is no evidence that it can be passed between people, but if the virus mutates (changes) this may happen in the future," the executive said. As the H5N1 HPAI virus is circulating in wild birds in Ireland, the HSE is reiterating the advice issued by DAFM to the public, including: Do not to touch sick or dead wild birds; Do not touch wild bird feathers or droppings; Avoid contact with surfaces contaminated with wild bird droppings; DAFM requests that all sick/dead wild birds are reported via the Avian Check app. While not all dead birds will be collected for testing, reporting is greatly appreciated and provides important information to support surveillance and risk assessment activities. The HSE added that if a person picks up or handles sick or dead wild birds that are found to be infected with avian influenza, they will be monitored for a period of 10 days. The person may be offered antiviral medication and vaccination if they are considered to be at risk.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Ireland finally bans HCC 'but we must be vigilant about new drugs'
The Government has been urged to remain vigilant and responsive to new drugs trends after it banned an addictive cannabis substitute which has been commonly sold in vapes or as edibles and which has been linked to serious medical episodes and psychosis in young people. The classification of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) as an illegal drug, agreed by Cabinet on Tuesday, means the import, export, production, possession, sale, or supply of products containing HHC is now illegal, giving added powers of enforcement to gardaí. Addiction experts and youth workers welcomed the move but said enforcement, vigilance, and a swift response by Government to new drug trends will be vital. Former lord mayor of Cork and now youth services manager with Cork Education and Training Board, Mick Finn, said: This move addresses the HHC products that are in plain sight. Mr Finn held a forum on heroin use in Cork while in office and has called for controls on HHC products. 'The big challenge will be enforcement, to ensure that certain shops can't stock these products anymore,' he said. 'HHC products were having a big impact on the ground, and it was reflected in all the stats, so Government and all the relevant agencies need to be more vigilant and responsive to any new trends that emerge from this ban.' Highly addictive and widely available, HHC is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid that has similar effects to cannabis and has been commonly sold as e-cigarettes or vape pens, in herbal mixtures, oils, edible jellies, and cakes, and as tinctures. Since it was first detected in Ireland in 2022, it has been linked with episodes of psychosis and hospitalisation, including one incident at a secondary school in North Cork in late 2023 when four teenagers were hospitalised after falling ill — one of at least 20 similar incidents reported at schools and in recreational settings across the country that same year. A recent 'Irish Examiner' investigation highlighted the ease with which people, including children, could buy products containing HHC. Earlier this year, 'Irish Examiner' reporter Ann Murphy exposed how easy it was to buy HHC in Ireland — and the devastating effects the drug can have. See link above. It also detailed how a 12-year-old child in Clonakilty, West Cork, could not remember his mother's name, while another had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital after vaping the cannabinoid. A recent study by researchers in University Hospital Galway also found that HHC was the second most common drug used by patients presenting with psychosis over a 21-month period. Consultant psychiatrist Colin O'Gara warned earlier this year that HHC can have devastating effects on a young person's mental health, and that young men suffering from severe psychosis as a result of vaping HHC have required months of intensive treatment in in-patient settings. HHC has now been classified as an illegal drug after health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill brought a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday seeking to have it categorised as a Schedule 1 controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. 14 substances added to proscribed list It is one of 14 substances, including synthetic opioids and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, newly classified as controlled drugs, after the EU and the UN Commission for Narcotic Drugs identified them as posing a serious risk to public health. Addiction counsellor Michael Guerin welcomed the ban but warned that the trade will now go underground. 'It is a positive development because there has been nothing heretofore,' he said. 'Now, it's up to the authorities to enforce the legislation. "The banning of head shops was successful, and I hope the same will happen with HHC. 'The concerning thing about these HHC products was that they seemed to be aimed at the very young, and any research into mood-altering substances in adolescents shows that the effects are more profound, and predisposes them to more serious problems later on. 'But the people making money out of HHC won't go away because of this. But it's better the substances are on the list than not on the list.'
