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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Scene of shame at Tuam may give closure
The horrifying situation in Tuam, Co Galway, has been a national shame ever since it was confirmed over a decade ago that the remains of hundreds of children who had died in the local mother and baby home were thrown into a nearby septic tank. Even now, that bald assertion of fact retains the power to shock. It is an unmatchable illustration of the level of hypocrisy in Irish society over many decades that this was allowed to happen, and the conduct of the Bons Secours nuns — who ran the home for Galway County Council — illustrates that hypocrisy perfectly. When the order sold the land, the nuns exhumed their dead colleagues and reinterred them at another cemetery. However, they left the remains of the children who had been in their care where they were discarded. We should be thankful to the likes of Catherine Corless, the indefatigable local historian who persisted in investigating this situation, and brought it to national and international attention. Journalists such as Alison O'Reilly have also done the State some service in their commitment to presenting truths which may have been uncomfortable for some, but which were necessary for all to hear. This month, excavation is due to begin at the site in Tuam at long last. Alison spoke this week to the families of those who believe the remains of their relatives are buried at the site, and their testimony was deeply moving. These are ordinary people, many of them elderly, who are hoping to find some answers after decades of being betrayed by both the church and State. One man Alison spoke to hopes to learn more about his aunt, who died in 1936; one woman in her 90s said she did not know if her son, born in 1949, is 'in a hole in a pipe somewhere'. The excavation project is expected to be a complex and challenging one, but it is to be hoped that it will provide some answers to people who have lived with grief and pain for many years. Those families deserve something approaching closure after all this time. A vital but not final milestone The Leaving Certificate examinations begin today, with thousands of students taking on English Paper 1 at 9.30am, as usual (the final exam is applied technology on June 16). It goes without saying that students have been focused on this date for the last couple of years in particular, studying past exam papers, revising exhaustively, and readying themselves for the biggest test of their secondary school careers — it is a momentous occasion. Still, it is also important to maintain perspective when it comes to the Leaving Cert. It's an important milestone but need not be the final word in any student's academic or professional progress. Balancing those messages can be tricky, of course. Placing the appropriate level of significance on the exams must be countered by the acknowledgement that it is a staging post on the journey, rather than a destination unto itself. This balancing act can become more difficult when one encounters breezy humble bragging on social media by celebrities about their own exam travails. Another traditional event at this time of year has nothing to do with the good weather which is expected — it's often believed that the Leaving Cert is accompanied by a burst of sunshine which seems to taunt those in exam halls, though meteorologists would no doubt be unconvinced of the scientific provenance of that assertion. The exams are usually accompanied by a debate on its general efficacy: Whether it is fit for purpose in the 21st century, whether more marks should be awarded for continuous assessment, and whether a series of tests at the end of one's school days are a fair and accurate evaluation of one's knowledge and ability. All of these are valid questions, and it should be acknowledged that the Leaving Cert has changed significantly over the years. One persuasive argument in its favour is that it is a relatively level playing field for students of all backgrounds. This is particularly powerful when considering the widely- held belief that continuous assessment may favour more affluent students. These are matters for another day, however. For today, best wishes to all facing the blank pages at half nine. An athlete of grace The funeral takes place tomorrow morning of Ellen Cassidy, the woman who died after becoming ill at the finish line of the Cork City Marathon last Sunday. Ellen, of Carhoo, Mallow Rd, was one of thousands of participants in the annual race, but she was also an accomplished swimmer. She represented Dolphin Swimming Club, University College Cork (UCC) Swimming Club, and the Munster Regional Squad. She also represented Ireland at the European Youth Olympics in 2015, and was joint chairperson of the UCC Swimming Club; she was involved in organising the Intervarsities Swimming Championship in Cork last year. It was good to see generous tributes being paid to her by many swimming clubs and organisations in recent days. 'Ellen swam through life with grace, strength, and passion,' wrote Dolphin Swimming Club. 'Your smile and your drive will never be forgotten.' Our deepest sympathies go to the Cassidy family and to all of Ellen's friends on her shocking loss. Requiem Mass will be at 11am tomorrow in The Church of the Annunciation, Blackpool. The family has asked that women wear their most colourful outfit for the funeral and bring a flower if they wish.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
'Will we find them all?' Families prepare for excavation at Tuam mother and baby home
They have waited 11 years and one month for someone to finally break open the ground at the Tuam burial site and uncover the answers to what really happened to their loved ones. When the news emerged in 2014 that 796 children had died in the Tuam mother and baby home between 1925 and 1961, families, survivors, and the public were angry and upset. But when further news emerged about how these remains had been callously dumped in a disused septic tank on the grounds of the home, the whole world was rightly shocked. The Bon Secours nuns who ran the home on behalf of Galway County Council also owned the privately run Grove hospital nearby. When the nuns sold their land in their early 2000s, they exhumed their colleagues who died and were buried at the Grove hospital and reinterred them at Knock cemetery, but left the remains of hundreds of children behind. At first the nuns claimed they were 'shocked and saddened' over the discovery of the mass grave in the septic tank, but Anna Corrigan, whose two brothers died in Tuam, was one of those to quickly challenge the nuns' denial, stating they knew about the existence of the children's grave. As proof, she points to a letter written to her in 2013, where the nuns advised her to make inquiries about her brothers' grave 'at the back of the former Tuam home'. Historian Catherine Corless at the Tuam mother and baby home. Picture: Andy Newman. When news of the mass grave made international headlines the following year, historian Catherine Corless, whose painstaking research made the discovery possible, together with survivors and their families, believed the next step would be to excavate the site and start the long process of identifying the individual children. However, the whole process became mired in a complex series of issues to do with legislation, practicalities, specialised skills, and a five-year commission of inquiry, which cost the State millions. All the while, the remains of the children remained lying in a septic tank. Legislation was thrashed out in the Dáil and the Institutional Burials Bill 2022 was finally passed allowing for the recovery and identification of the children and an appropriate reinternment. Now, as the date for the first ever mass exhumation of the Tuam Babies burial site approaches, a number of relatives of the children buried there have spoken to the Irish Examiner about what will be an extremely emotional process. Anna Corrigan, aged 70, Dublin In 2012, Anna Corrigan made the shocking discovery that she was not an only child, but instead was the youngest of three. As a child, she vaguely remembered someone arguing with her late mother Bridget Dolan about her 'two sons', and during a visit to the origins department of Barnardos years later — where she was tracing her late father William Dolan's life in an industrial school — she happened to mention this story. A few weeks later, as Christmas drew close, the researcher in Barnardos called Anna and asked her to come into its offices in Dublin. 'I told her 'no',' said Anna. 'I'm a grown woman, a grandmother, just say it over the phone, I told her. 'She was reluctant as this wasn't her preferred option, but when I pressed her, she said, 'Your mother did have two baby boys.' 'My legs nearly went out from under me,' Anna said. 'She explained there were two birth certificates for John and William Dolan, but only one death certificate and that was for John. The research showed Bridget Dolan, from Clonfert, Co Galway, who grew up in a large family on a farm, was an unmarried mother. Anna Corrigan, campaigner and spokesperson for the Tuam Babies Family Group with a photograph of her mother, Bridget, holding her as a young girl. Picture: Moya Nolan She fell pregnant twice, in 1946 and 1950, and was sent to the mother and baby home in Tuam. According to their official birth certificates, Bridget's first son, John Desmond Dolan, was born on February 22, 1946. An inspection report described him as "emaciated" and "mentally defective" and he died on June 11, 1947, from measles. Her second, William Joseph Dolan, was born on May 21, 1950, and is marked as having died on February 3, 1951, but there is no death certificate on record. 'I will never forget learning this news,' Anna said. 'My whole life as I knew it, was not really the way it was. There were secrets, and my mother never said it to me ever. "I think she did that because it was too big to deal with, and maybe her way of coping. I'd like to think she shared it with my dad.' Anna told her mother's story in the original expose of the Tuam babies' burial scandal on May 25, 2014, when Corless's research was published and made international headlines. She chose to share her mother's story anonymously at first, but has since become an avid campaigner for truth and justice and set up the Tuam Babies Family Group. 'We have 11 members with families in the pit,' she said. 'I was never part of the commission, instead I reported my brothers missing to the gardaí and have no update. "I can't say they are dead. John has a death cert, and William is marked as dead in the nuns' ledgers but has no official certification. "Both children were baptised also. 'Is that a mistake in the nuns bookkeeping or he alive? I know my mother told a relative she had a son adopted to America and never left her Dublin tenant flat in the city centre in case he ever came back. Having been front and centre alongside Corless in the fight to have the burial site Tuam excavated, Anna said she is 'delighted to see it starting'. 'There has been so much heartache in between, obstruction by the State, obfuscation, and delays,' she said. 'I don't know how far this is going to take us, what are we going to find. "If remains are found, will the exhumation be halted and then we wait years for the next part of the section to start? 'Will we find them all? Will we find my brothers? I am holding my breath. "I've done my DNA tests, I hope I'll be matched to my brothers and can have some closure, but I have to wait. I always wanted the children out of that site, no matter what, they couldn't possibly be resting in peace lying in a septic tank, and we, the families, have a say in where they are reinterred. 'I also believe there should be a criminal inquiry, but what are the plans for after the children are found? "Will anyone ever be held responsible for this atrocity? Knowing this State, not a hope.' Annette McKay, 71, Greater Manchester No one knew that Margaret 'Maggie' O'Connor had given birth to a 'bonnie' baby girl when she was a teenager in the Tuam Mother and Baby Home after she had been raped in an industrial school. However, at a family gathering shortly after the birth of her great-grandchild, Maggie, broke down and her daughter, Annette McKay, refused to let her mother suffer in silence. She pressed her mother until she revealed the heartbreaking secret she had kept for five decades. ''It's the little baby,' she whispered. 'My daughter'... and it went from there." Maggie, who was known as 'one of the best-dressed women in Galway', had suffered all her life over her broken childhood which saw her raised in Lenaboy Industrial School and later locked up in the Tuam mother and baby home. 'This was all something none of us knew about,' said Annette. 'She was so upset around my grandchild that I got in the car and drove back to her house that night until she told me her secret. 'When the baby died, the nuns threw her out of the home she said, they told her 'The child of your sin is dead, you can go'. 'Imagine that? She was helpless. Mum said the baby was beautiful and described her as a bonnie baby whom she carried around on her hip. 'Mum left Ireland and never went back, she was a broken woman who suffered psychiatric problems for years, she was on medication and had broken marriages. It all added up.' Annette McKay said her mother was 'a broken woman'. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Baby Mary Margaret was seven weeks old when she died from whooping cough on June 9, 1943. In her later years, Maggie suffered with dementia and died on April 8, 2016. Annette has fought for the truth about what happened to her sister who is named on the children's death register in Tuam. She is a member of the advisory committee to the director of the intervention and is preparing for the exhumation, promised to take place in June — and hoping all of the children will be found. 'It's the euphoria that it is actually happening after all this time,' she explained. 'It is also not wanting to get your hopes up that there is going to be some sort of satisfactory outcome to it. 'Being on the advisory board, I do know how difficult and complicated it's going to be. 'I'd like to feel realistic about the possibilities, but I am also dreading going back to that site to see it again, because now its real, it's concrete, the work of trying to get something done is different to all those dark secrets that might finally be exposed. 'What will be the truth of what is actually there, will we really get answers?' Annette recalled visiting the site in 2014 when news of the mass grave first emerged. 'It was raining and dreary and we stood on the site with my cousin,' she explained. 'My cousin said, 'You do know there are unburied babies underneath our feet?' 'It is like the day of the vigil and reading the babies' names, we put our cameras down, because suddenly you could feel the power of the place, saying those names out loud. 'When you read their names and their ages — there's hundreds and hundreds of dead children and nobody can explain why. I am glad on the one hand this has happened, and I've longed to see the end of that place. 'But it is also the banality of evil, in one side of that site is what we know to be the Tuam grave, but then there's a playground beside it. Everything that is normal but abnormal. There are happy children in the playground, but they are living in a place where there are dead children under their feet. She said all she can hope for is that 'all of the children will be found and accounted for'. 'I just hope at the end of it we don't come to a place where there are still so many missing. 'What will Tuam reveal? What will it really tell us? "Those babies will never be here again, they are short, miserable lives, and we owe it to them to give them some dignity.' Chrissie Tully, 94, Loughrea, Co Galway Chrissie Tully sat on her small velvet-covered orange sofa in the living room at the front of her home as two forensic specialists swabbed the inside of her mouth. As the only known surviving mother of the Tuam home, she has lived the past 76 years of her life with two heartbreaking scenarios. Her baby boy Michael arrived into the world on December 13, 1949, but died and lies buried somewhere in the Tuam grave, or he was adopted and is alive somewhere, possibly in the US, and unaware of his origins. 'I just remember the pain when I went into labour,' Chrissie said. 'I was in the Tuam home. I had this unmerciful pain, and the nuns said they would have to get me into the hospital in Galway.' The then 18-year-old was rushed to Galway Central Hospital where her baby boy was delivered. 'That's all I know is that he was a boy,' she said. 'I never saw his face and they said he was upside down in the womb. 'They went off with him and came back and said, 'the child died'. I didn't even get a cup of tea. I had nothing. 'I went back to living my life as a domestic, a priest gave me a job.' In 1955, Chrissie discovered she was pregnant again, with her partner who was 'not the marrying type'. 'He went off to England, he didn't have any children as far as I know. Then one day two gardaí came and brought Chrissie to the station in Loughrea. 'There was an old judge there and he said, 'If you don't tell us who the father of your children is we will put you in jail.' Chrissie laughed because 'laughing is all I can do now, if you can't laugh you would die. Chrissie Tully, from Loughrea, with her son Patrick Naughton. Picture: Hany Marzouk 'I told him, 'Go ahead so'. I wasn't afraid of him, sure I'd have nothing to lose; I was already the talk of the town. 'I went back to Tuam, my mother never sent me anything in case the women in the post office would read the address on the parcel. I never got any visitors or presents or letters." Recently, through the generosity of strangers, Chrissie raised €72,000 to buy her council home in case Michael is alive. 'I can't say what happened to him I can't find where he was buried, and we did look everywhere.' There is one record that states 'return to the Tuam home' and that one sentence haunts Chrissie. 'I have been sick a lot lately, the idea he is in that pit. I don't think I could face that,' she said. 'It hurts so much. I went to Tuam two years ago and one woman looked at me and said, 'I can't find my baby' and I wanted to run away. 'I pray for him every night. To think he might be in a hole in a pipe somewhere. If he is found he will be buried with me. "But nobody can tell me anything, and that is why I want to leave this home for him. There is also the idea he is alive — you can't trust the nuns.' Thomas Garavan, 64, Co Mayo Professor Thomas Garavan has been unable to find burial details for his nine-month-old aunt Teresa Angela Daly who died in Tuam in 1936 as — on her death certificate, she appears as Angela Daly. His mother, Margaret Daly, nee Garavan, aged 93, is now in a nursing home with dementia and is non-verbal. 'I'm acting for my mother now; I am her legal representative,' he said. 'Nobody ever knew about my mother's sister until we got the records. 'Nobody was told about her, or her death. "My grandparents John and Margaret Daly from Co Mayo were married with no fixed abode and fond of the drink, so the children went into Tuam — but were also separated. 'We got a death cert for Teresa but have never been able to find where she is buried, and she died of meningitis. There are no records that show my grandparents were ever told about her death. 'She went in at nine months old as a healthy baby, she was right in the middle of my mother and her sister, and then the three boys after her. 'We didn't know about her, nobody ever knew about her, my mother and aunts did not know.' Prof Thomas Garavan is 'sceptical about the Tuam exhumation, I wonder given what we know what actually they are going to find out'. Picture: Denis Minihane He said the forthcoming exhumation is difficult because his mother is without memory and will never know if her sister has been found. 'When my mother was well, we did our DNA tests, we have all taken part in that process, so that bit is out of the way, and that is great. 'But I can't tell my mother, she has no talk out of her at her at all, she is 92 and her sister 97 and both of them are in nursing homes." While the majority of the children who died in Tuam were born to unmarried mothers, Thomas' family was different. 'They were the children of a married couple who were unable to raise their children' he said. 'All seven were taken and put into Tuam but separated, they found each other with no help from the State. 'I am sceptical about the Tuam exhumation, I wonder given what we know what actually they are going to find out. 'What condition are the bones in? Is there any potential to extract DNA and is the science good? 'My mother is a full sibling, so there is a good chance of a match if my aunt is found. But I don't know. 'My aunt died in 1936, that is a long time ago, so anything is possible, but it leaves me with more questions. 'I would like to know what happened to her and where is she buried, I would have her reinterred with her mother in Mayo. She is buried alone, my grandfather died in 1942, and my grandmother never claimed him, and he was put into a pauper's grave. 'It really paints a picture of the sort of family they were, and my aunt did not deserve to die in Tuam, but all we can hope for is that all of the children are found.'
Irish Examiner
31-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Gareth O'Callaghan: Tell us what's going on at Bessborough — we have a right to know
'It is important to say you were in this world, you mattered, you were something, you were a human being.' These are the words of historian Catherine Corless, the tireless investigator who uncovered the shocking truth involving the deaths of 796 babies and children at the Bons Secour Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway, since it opened 100 years ago. On average, a child died every two weeks between 1925 and 1961 — when the home closed. Death certificates were identified for each child, but there were no burial records. In 2017, investigators found 'significant quantities of human remains' in underground chambers near the home, confirming the bodies were those of premature babies and children up to the age of three who had been disposed of in a disused septic tank. Historian Catherine Corless at the Tuam Mother and Babies site. Five years ago, taoiseach Micheál Martin called Catherine Corless a 'tireless crusader of dignity and truth'. The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam announced recently that a full exhumation will commence at the end of June, followed by a dignified burial of the bodies that have laid in the sewage facility for over half a century. In November 1922, Bessborough Mother and Baby Home opened its doors in the better-off sleepy suburb of Blackrock in Cork. Just like Tuam, Bessborough became an omen in holy Catholic Ireland of what unmarried women who became pregnant could expect. According to Derek Scally, in his book The Best Catholics in the World, 'the Catholic state encouraged their own families and wider society to view them as dirt: a homogenous group of dregs, easy women and prostitutes'. They were guilty of 'crimes' against the moral institution of Catholic conformity. In most cases, these terrified women had nowhere to go. They were thrown out and exiled by their parents, escorted to a mother and baby home often by a nurse and the local gardaí. If they took the boat to England, they risked being tracked down by a group of fanatics called 'The Crusade of Rescue' and hauled back to Ireland, into the clutches of the nuns. An unmarried pregnancy was a life of hell. To this day, there remains an eerie sense of perdition around Bessborough, even though it's been 26 years since the last woman and child were discharged from the home. I first strolled around its grounds between covid lockdowns, and returned many times since then; not out of morbid curiosity, but more to do with my own research over the years. It didn't take long to find what I was looking for, namely a small patch of grassy land close to what's called the castle folly, where it's believed some of the infants born here are buried. It had been demolished in 2019 on the orders of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, but was in the process of being rebuilt on the orders of Cork City Council. Was it a coincidence that they had ordered its destruction only weeks before the fifth interim report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation revealed how out of the 923 babies who died at Bessborough, or in Cork hospitals where they were transferred to during its history, only 64 burial records exist? I was back in Bessborough recently. Areas of interest that were once easy to access are now fenced off. I may have been trespassing, but surely such a misdemeanour pales compared to the probability that what I was standing on was a mass grave of human remains that cruelly continues to be ignored by the State I take a stroll beyond the nuns' graveyard to a patch of land that an old map I'm holding calls 'Children's Burial Ground'. I stand still and take in the bumpy uneven ground beneath my feet, feeling that sense of skewered energy again. There's something here, I can't help telling myself. All the while, I feel I'm being watched; but there's no human life to be seen, just the sound of South Ring Road traffic in the distance. According to the report, 'The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary told the commission that they did not know where the children who died in Bessborough are buried.' However, the commission describes information provided by the nuns in an affidavit as 'speculative, inaccurate and misleading'. In January 2021, at a time when it was feared that planning permission would be granted for construction on the site of where many of these babies are believed to be buried, taoiseach Micheál Martin stated that 'there needs to be first of all an examination, and the proper robust identification of the burial sites of all children.' So what happened? If the Commission of Investigation could confirm the number of children who died in Bessborough, then it also knew their names, ages and causes of death. If that's the case, then the government also knows their names. So what else do they know that we're not being told? Just like Tuam, there are people around Cork who wish this scandal would just go away — the same people who would prefer to see apartments built on hallowed ground. Catherine Corless was told on more than one occasion to drop her research; and as for the bodies of the infants, to 'just leave them there'. Am I right to suspect that individuals connected in some way over the years to Bessborough are being shielded? Is the State obliging them by postponing indefinitely a full land investigation? Identifying baby burial sites should be a priority, the taoiseach said four years ago. So why hasn't he made it his priority? The minister for justice could order the land to be excavated immediately, so why doesn't he? Tell us what's going on. We have a right to know. Bessborough was a profitable business. The Order wasn't short of money. Locals were paid handsomely to help with its upkeep, to provide for its residents' day-to-day needs, most likely even to bury its dead. Huge sums of money changed hands in exchange for the babies who were in big demand by couples who wanted to adopt. An experimental 4-in-1 vaccine drug was even tested on 25 babies in the home in 1961, paid for by the Wellcome Foundation pharmaceutical company, without parental consent being sought. US therapist Elvin Semrad describes the greatest source of human suffering as 'the lies we tell ourselves'. It's easy to blame the nuns, but culpability stretches far and wide. Ireland's mother and baby homes were a reflection of a nation's twisted conscience, of how a State viewed its women and children. Turning a blind eye came quite naturally. If exhumation finally returns the lost dignity to Bessborough's missing babies, then we have no choice but to acknowledge our shameful heritage, just as much as Tuam must. It's easy to say it's all in the past, instead of accepting that the past belongs to each of us, all of it. Bessborough is all our faults. We permitted the atrocities because we had notions about ourselves. We were a pitch above 'fallen women', pure and perfect in the moral stakes — our self-concept based on hypocrisy. And what about the fathers? If the babies' names are published, then the fathers who are also to blame become accountable. Is that another reason for years of heel-dragging? There are almost 900 babies missing in Cork, but how many people are interested in finding them? Make no mistake — many individuals profited in their own significant way from the Bessborough scandal over the years. Their families know who they are. In the words of Bob Dylan: 'All the money you made will never buy back your soul.'
Irish Independent
18-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Letters: Catherine Corless never forgot the discarded Tuam babies and was a towering advocate for those children
For the survivors and families who have babies and children buried there, it must bring a sense of expectation, anticipation and perhaps some joy that their discarded relatives' remains will be found soon. Although perhaps joy is the wrong word, for it has taken far too long to start the excavation and the circumstances of the burial only brings tears of sadness. It takes too long to get justice in Ireland. Modern Ireland always seems to have struggled to do what is right. We lecture other nations but don't see in the mirror the reflection of our own shocking failures. We look away thinking time never matters. Delay seems to bring a strange sanctuary for those in power. The excavation should have taken place years ago. We owe such a debt of gratitude to Catherine Corless for conducting such brilliant and painstaking research with compassion. She is a towering strength of advocacy for those children. We owe her now that the weight on her shoulders will be lifted by recovering them. Thanks, and God bless you, Catherine, for never leaving those innocent babies behind. Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18 There's nothing 'fun' about drug addiction Madam — Perhaps the chairperson of the Dáil's Committee on Drugs Use, Gary Gannon, might consider attending a court sitting. It could be anywhere in the country — the story will be the same. Young men caught up in the spiral of drug abuse and addiction and unable to break free from it. One of those men, now in his early 20s, grew up beside us and was friends from infancy with one of our children. She is now abroad studying — he is in prison. Not the first time he has been locked up and, tragically, probably not the last. ADVERTISEMENT All because he opted to sample cannabis following peer pressure and remained on that path, his addiction aided by other substances contaminating the drug and leading him further into the abyss. Last Sunday, Gannon ('I liked some drugs better than others') was afforded a platform to tell readers of his own drug use in his 20s. 'I can see the appeal of them, because what people don't say enough is that drugs can be fun and are fun in the moment and that's why so many people take them,' he said. I know at least two parents who will have never used the word 'fun' when it comes to their son's descent into the underbelly of the drug world. And there are countless others throughout this country relating the same sorry story. A visit to his local courthouse might indeed give Mr Gannon a better insight into the addictions that are rampant in this country — drugs should never be in the same sentence as the word 'fun'. Name and address with editor Let's boycott Israeli products sold here Madam — The Government should publish a list of all Israeli products sold here, thus giving Irish citizens the opportunity to express their abhorrence of the atrocities in Gaza by boycotting these products. There are probably some EU constraints the Government would need to overcome, but surely it is worth ruffling a few diplomatic feathers to achieve this goal. Older readers will remember the effectiveness of the stand taken by Dunnes Stores workers against apartheid back in the 1980s. Surely this situation merits a similar approach? Colman Collins, Galway Let Eurovision just be a song contest Madam — The Israeli Eurovision entrant, Yuval Raphael, just about escaped with her life at the Nova music festival in October 2023. Hamas politicised that event, murdering and taking hostages. Eilis O'Hanlon (Sunday Independent, May 11) also seeks to take politics into the realm of music, suggesting Eurovision participants might chant 'free Palestine' but not, I noticed, 'free the hostages'. Will a 'free' Palestine be more of the same, ruled by Hamas and other violent Islamist ideologies allocating funds to making war rather than feeding the people? That is the dichotomy facing the Palestinian regime. Meanwhile, let the Eurovision song contest, a music festival, be what is says on the tin. Ena Keye, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 Political cockiness has cost us dearly Madam — Our European partners have, once again, shown us the door — and rightly so! We have become too cocky and self assured. Even Donald Trump has hinted that we have gone a few steps too far and too fast for his liking. And just look at the antics of our political leaders — sticking their noses into everybody's business instead of guiding the good ship Ireland through the the choppy waters of a global meltdown. We're going to pay for this lack of foresight. We have lost more than a European song competition, we have also lost many of our friends across Europe. Niall Ginty, Killester, Dublin 5 Too much scoffing from Shane Ross Madam — Shane Ross scoffs at the notion of Irish soft power, dismissing it as a myth inflated by diplomatic pageantry ('Mythical narrative of our soft power ignores hard facts', May 11). But soft power, by its nature, is elusive, understated and hard to quantify — yet no less real for it. He may sneer at the 'Global Ireland Summit' or at the Taoiseach and Tánaiste voicing moral outrage over Gaza, but to many outside these islands, Ireland's consistent stance on international law and human rights is a breath of fresh air in an age of bluster and brutal pragmatism. Oscar Wilde once said: 'A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.' Ireland's moral credibility — expressed through its diplomacy, neutrality, and cultural reach — is a form of influence that cannot be weighed like GDP or troop numbers, but it carries weight nonetheless. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh Rachael is the best Irish sports person Madam — Considering the danger involved in the sport of National Hunt Racing — and taking into account her achievements in a male-dominated sport — would it be fair to say that jockey Rachael Blackmore is probably the greatest female sports person that Ireland has ever produced? Paddy Pigott, Co Laois HSE might hold the key to housing woes Madam — Could the HSE literally hold the key to some of our housing woes? Here in Killarney we have an enormous property called St Finians owned by the HSE. The building is in a prime location but has remained idle for 20 years. Two more large properties are about to be vacated as a new community hospital opens in our town. What are the plans for the children's hospitals about to be vacated in Dublin? Could all of these properties be repurposed into apartments for workers and young people in our towns and cities? The vacant property grants can be utilised and rent paid to the HSE with a buy-out option. It seems one obvious solution? Vera Wall, Killarney, Co Kerry Quinn like a kid in a sweet shop in Rome Madam — While reading David Quinn's excellent piece on the recent events in Rome, the phrase 'a journalist in a sweet shop' came to mind! John McCann, Donegal It is not Pope's role to fight culture wars Madam — He's barely in the job and the Pope is already being enlisted as an ideological warrior by the liberal thought police; as if the sole function of a Pope is to get involved in contemporary culture wars. As usual, they miss the point. The clue is in the title, Pontifex Maximus, or bridge builder. At its core, the Pope's role is conciliatory, not confrontational. Of course, some of the core teachings of the church, particularly those relating to human sexuality, can be difficult. So a degree of friction can arise. Then, the Pope's role is to uphold the hard teachings with compassion. Apart from core teachings on faith and morals, for example abortion, one can respectfully disagree. Recently, the US vice president, JD Vance, posited his views on St Augustine's teachings on 'ordo amoris' or the ordering of love. Essentially, he contended that we have to prioritise matters, starting with those closest to us and working out from there. He didn't say what some implied, 'love your family, hate everyone else'. I think his point is valid, but others disagree. The Pope's role is not to side with liberals over conservatives or vice-versa. It is to uphold the truth of the teachings passed down by Jesus to Peter and succeeding popes. We wish him well. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath Has Pope Leo gone for the wrong job? Madam — Various reports suggest Pope Leo is a man who tends to shun the limelight. The words 'wrong' and 'job' spring to mind. Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9 US folk made our trip there amazing Madam — We have just spent three glorious weeks travelling the US. In response to the letter Sunday, May 11, from Mike Hill, of Illinois, in the Sunday Independent, I can gladly return the compliment. American people are wonderfully warm and welcoming. More important than ever to re-state in the current climate. It's the people we met that made our visit extra special. Matt Feeney, Dunboyne, Co Meath Madam — Is it just me who cannot understand the obsession throughout the media with America? It seems to be a contextual thing. They claim to be the greatest country in the world, yet their 'managing director' still campaigns to make them great… again? The US represents just a small percentage of the world's population, roughly 4pc. Only 37pc of American adults hold a passport, compared to 84pc in Ireland — which, I would argue, signals something about openness and intent. According to the World Bank, America's GDP per capita stands at around $76,000 (€68,000). Ireland's is closer to $124,000 (€111,000). Hardly a gold star for the 'greatest country in the world'. America's life expectancy (men 75.1, women 80.2) is lower than Ireland's (men 78.5, women 83.2). Its adult obesity rate is over 42pc, compared to the EU average of 18pc. I could go on... Ireland, like most of its European neighbours, is a cultured, passive and quiet nation (with the usual exceptions). Our outlook tends toward enjoyment, shared experience, and the value of culture. Why, then, are we constantly bombarded with commentary and coverage focused on a single man from a country whose measure of success seems to be how much money he, and the majority that voted for him, made? Jonathan Roth, Westport, Co Mayo Common sense has become heresy in SF Madam — In April, when he posted that he believed the UK supreme court decision that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex was 'common sense', Sinn Féin's David Cullinane seemed to understand the fact that men who say they are women are not in fact women. Roll on May, and Cullinane now says that men who say they are women are women. As George Orwell wrote in 1984: 'In the end, the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it... The heresy of heresies was common sense.' E Bolger, Dublin 9 Irish not interested in trans issues Madam — The Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll shows that 'a large majority in Ireland agree with the UK supreme court judgment'. I'd be very surprised if this were true. I'm not sure Irish people are all that interested in trans issues — despite the best efforts of some to demonise a small and vulnerable minority. I find myself inclined to agree with the actor David Tennant, who was last week reported as saying: 'Most people don't give a shit. I genuinely believe most people just want to let people be themselves.' I believe we are largely tolerant and decent, and content to let others get on with living their lives in peace — notwithstanding any legal definitions pertaining in a foreign jurisdiction. Bernie Linnane, Dromahair, Co Leitrim We must address the reasons for abortion Madam — To see thousands of people gathering in Dublin city centre to join the March for Life earlier this month was an uplifting sight. Numbers of abortions continue to rise since it was legalised in Ireland. Yet there has been little or no interest at official levels to address the reasons why women seek abortion. There is much to be done to work towards making sure all pregnant women who are facing challenges — whether for social, financial or medical reasons — can continue their pregnancy with the support they need available to them in practice, not only in lip-service. Mona Stromsoe, Midleton, Cork Ex-WHO executive perfect for HSE job Madam — The news that Bernard Gloster is retiring from his position at the HSE next March came as a shock. Now the question is who will replace him? It it is vital to get the right person who will stay the course in a very demanding job. One person comes immediately to mind — Dr Mike Ryan, Irish epidemiologist and until recently a senior executive at the World Health Organisation, who has been managing health emergencies for the past 27 years. Dr Ryan, a native of Sligo, would take on the challenge of running the HSE like a duck to water. He has all the necessary experience and would be an ideal candidate. Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo Starmer made me think of Yeats Madam — Keir Starmer's 'island of strangers' speech reminds me of a line attributed to WB Yeats: 'There are no strangers here, only friends who haven't met yet.' Brendan O'Brien, London Camogie and the right to choose Madam — Amid all the controversy about camogie players having the right to choose either skorts or shorts, there seems to be a blind spot when it comes to male GAA players. Shouldn't all players, male and female, be able to choose between skorts and shorts? Joseph Mackey, Glasson, Athlone
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Exhumation of Tuam babies' mass grave to begin in June, confirms intervention director
The long-awaited exhumation of the Tuam babies' mass grave will get underway in June, the Director of the Authorised Intervention has revealed. A statement issued on Tuesday morning on behalf of Daniel MacSweeney, who is leading the works in Co Galway, said the intervention – the first of its kind in Ireland – 'is due to start in the second half of June this year, pending the appointment of the excavation contractor.' Mr MacSweeney said he expects to confirm exact dates in mid-May when the excavation contractor and forensic team have spoken to the 'families of people who were in the Tuam institution, survivors, advocates, residents living in proximity to the site, and others who have been most impacted.' He explained that the burial site will be 'forensically sealed at all times during the excavation," and that the team is "hoping to facilitate on-site visits for survivors and family members at the beginning of the excavation.' In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the names of 796 children who died in the religiously run home from 1925 to 1961. Since then, a number of test excavations in 2016 and 2017 confirmed that the remains of children found at the site were from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. When the nuns sold the land in the early 2000s, they exhumed the remains of their colleagues who were buried in the nearby Bon Secours private hospital but left the children in the mass grave. There was outrage all over the world when the story emerged that 796 children were buried in large chambers in a septic tank on the grounds of the home and were not given a proper burial. In 2014, local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the names of 796 children who died in the religiously run home from 1925 to 1961. Picture: Laura Hutton/ A Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate the circumstances of 14 homes and four county homes, and survivors received a State apology in 2021. Families and campaigners have long called for the children to be removed from the site and given a proper burial. Mr MacSweeney added: 'Our work is centred around the people and groups who have been most impacted by the former Mother and Baby institution in Tuam. 'This includes families, survivors, and the Tuam community. Our work will be conducted in accordance with international standards and best practice, and in keeping with our core values. 'Substantial and meaningful planning has gone into this unique and incredibly complex excavation. As part of this, we are in the process of appointing a talented, high-calibre multidisciplinary forensic team and a main excavation contractor. 'The excavation will take place in two parts. Further details on the forensic approach being taken will be shared at the start of the excavation.' Annette McKay's sister, Mary Margaret O'Connor, died while in the Tuam home in 1943. She told the Irish Examiner, 'I am absolutely delighted that finally we have concrete news. 'It is very emotional considering it has taken us over 10 years to get to this point, where we finally might see the end of a terrible story and we can lay these little ones to rest.' For more information about the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam, see
