Ten More Infant Remains Unearthed at Tuam Mother-and-Baby Institution Site
Ten additional infant coffins were uncovered during hand excavation at the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam, raising the total recovered to 109.
The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention announced that ten further infant remains, all housed in coffins, have been recovered by hand-excavation at the former Mother and Baby Institution site in Tuam, County Galway, increasing the total to 109. Archaeologists have been working at the St Mary’s location since July of the previous year, following a 2014 study by local historian Catherine Corless that suggested hundreds of children were buried in the institution’s sewage system between 1925 and 1961.
The latest finds were located in a section labeled “tent 2,” after which excavation paused for the erection of a larger “tent 3” structure. Officials are also advancing a bill to extend burial-record rights to first cousins, with the proposal now before the government. In parallel, 12 new DNA reference samples were sent to Forensic Science Ireland, bringing the total to 74, to aid in matching remains with living relatives. The ODAIT urges anyone who suspects a family member may be among the remains to contact them for assistance.
Why it matters
The findings may help families identify lost relatives and illuminate a historic child-burial scandal.
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