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Irish Examiner
2 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.
Agriland
2 days ago
- General
- Agriland
Galway County Council launches new biodiversity plan
Galway County Council has launched a strategy for preserving and enhancing the county's natural and cultural heritage over the next six years. The council unveiled the new Galway County Heritage and Biodiversity Plan 2024-2030 at the Marine Institute, Rinville, Co. Galway, today, June 3, 2025. It aims to set out a detailed roadmap to address challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the need for community-driven heritage preservation. The plan has been developed in collaboration with the Galway County Heritage and Biodiversity Forum, and the Heritage Council. According to the county council, the key priorities for the plan includes conducting a comprehensive biodiversity audit of council-owned lands, updating Galway's invasive alien species strategy, and developing a countywide tree and hedgerow management plan. The plan also commits to protecting sensitive habitats, such as peatlands and marine ecosystems, and delivering biodiversity education through training in collaboration with the Public Participation Network (PPN). The chief executive of Galway County Council, Liam Conneally said: 'The plan sets out a clear, action-driven vision to protect and celebrate our county's rich natural, built, and cultural heritage. 'It will guide our efforts in addressing climate and environmental challenges, promoting sustainability, and enhancing awareness and stewardship,' Conneally added. Galway County Council The biodiversity officer for Galway County Council, Rosina Joyce said that climate change and biodiversity loss are central to the plan. She said: 'Our heritage is a cornerstone of community pride and identity. This plan not only celebrates these unique assets but also addresses pressing challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the evolving needs of our society. 'We are committed to integrating climate resilience into all actions, ensuring that Galway's heritage and biodiversity contribute to mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change.' 'By promoting sustainable practices and innovative solutions, we aim to create a legacy of resilience for future generations.' Galway County Council claims that the plan is the only one of its kind in Ireland to fully integrate biodiversity and heritage in a combined action plan.
Irish Examiner
3 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.'
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Council approves 'crucial' Conamara restoration project
Galway County Council has approved plans by Coillte to carry out an environmental restoration project in Conamara. Coillte said the Derryclare peatland restoration project forms part of a wider initiative, which aims to restore over 2,000 hectares of blanket bog and wet heath along the western seaboard. It applied for permission to fell and remove over 340 hectares of existing plantations, in order to allow for the restoration of peatland and to undertake a replanting programme. The lands in question are at Doire an Chláir and Cúil na Ceártan in Co Galway. The restoration project will involve the removal of pine and conifer trees, the blocking of drains and the control of invasive species on the site. It is planned to rewet some 281 hectares of blanket bog, with the remaining portion of land to be replanted with native tree species. An earlier application was refused by the local authority last year and a new submission was made by the company last December. Coillte said the project will have a "wide array of environmental benefits", including enhanced carbon sequestration, rare habitat protection and flood risk management. In its submission to the council, it argued the initiative would reverse damage caused by previous forestry practices and was in keeping with the National Biodiversity Action Plan. The company said without intervention the site would continue to experience peat degradation and that a "crucial opportunity to restore vital environmental functions" on the area would be lost. Planners have attached seven conditions to the permission, including stipulations that the project be overseen by an on-site peatland ecologist and that adequate soakaways are constructed, in order to ensure there is no impact on existing land or road drainage. Coillte has welcomed today's decision and said work will now begin on incorporating the conditions into the wider restoration plan.
Irish Post
23-05-2025
- Irish Post
A clean sweep for Galway's beaches
CÉIBH an Spidéil beach has regained its coveted Blue Flag status after losing it in 2013. The announcement was made last week at the national Blue Flag and Green Coast Awards ceremony hosted by An Taisce at the Ravenport Resort in Curracloe, Co. Wexford. Céibh an Spidéil beach in County Galway, which has regained its coveted Blue Flag status (Pic: Galway County Council) The beach is among eight locations in County Galway to receive the prestigious Blue Flag for 2025, with a further six beaches recognised with Green Coast Awards. The Blue Flag is an internationally recognised symbol awarded to bathing areas that meet exceptional standards in water quality, safety, environmental education, and beach management. Alongside Céibh an Spidéil, this year's Blue Flag recipients include Long Point at Loughrea Lake, Portumna bathing area, Trá Inis Oírr, Trá an Dóilín (An Cheathrú Rua), An Trá Mhór (Indreabhán), Trá Chill Mhuirbhigh (Inis Mór), and Traught Beach (Kinvara). Six Galway beaches were also honoured with Green Coast Awards, which recognise clean water and pristine natural environments in more remote or less developed areas. The view from the promenade The Green Coast awardees are Trá Inis Oírr and Trá Poll na gCaorach (Inis Oírr), East End and Dumhach (Inishbofin), Aillebrack (Ballyconneely), and Renvyle Beach (Tully). 'County Galway's beaches are renowned for their clean environment, excellent water quality and natural beauty, and we are delighted that once again so many of them have received the coveted Blue Flag and Green Coast Awards," Cllr. Martina Kinane, Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway, said. She continued: 'These awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of those who clean our beaches. I am particularly happy to see that the beach at Céibh an Spidéil has regained its Blue Flag which will be very much welcomed by the local community.' Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, said: 'These awards let our citizens and people around the world know that County Galway is a wonderful place to live in and to visit and that our beaches are clean, well-managed and safe to enjoy. "We are grateful to the staff in Area Offices, Community Wardens, and all the volunteers and beach clean groups for all their hard work and dedication in ensuring our coastline is kept clean. "Galway has some of the best beaches in the country and we are proud to maintain them.' See More: Beaches, Galway, Ireland, Travel
