796 Infant Remains Buried in Septic Tank at Catholic Facility for Unwed Mothers
Irish authorities have begun excavating the grounds of a former Catholic-run institution in Tuam, County Galway, believed to contain the remains of up to 800 infants who died between 1925 and 1961.
The site was once home to the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, operated by an order of Catholic nuns. The facility housed unmarried pregnant women, many of whom were survivors of rape, incest, or abuse, and were often coerced into giving up their babies.
Local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the truth in 2014 when she found death records for 798 children, but burial records for only one. Her research revealed that many of the infants’ remains were likely discarded in a former septic tank, an area now beneath a modern apartment complex.
The ongoing excavation, expected to last up to two years, aims to identify remains and provide dignified reburials for the children.
One woman, Annette McKay, believes her sister is among the dead. Her mother, Margaret “Maggie” O’Connor, gave birth at the home after being raped at 17. The baby, Mary Margaret, died at six months. A nun informed Margaret by saying, “The child of your sin is dead.”
The Tuam facility was part of a broader system of state-sanctioned institutions, including Magdalene Laundries, where women labeled as “fallen”, often just pregnant and unmarried, were subjected to forced labor and lifelong stigma. The last of these laundries closed in the 1990s.
A 2021 investigation found that 9,000 children died in similar homes across Ireland, many from preventable illnesses. In response, the Irish government issued an apology in 2014 and launched a redress scheme in 2022, with over $32 million paid to survivors so far.
As the excavation unfolds, families and advocates hope for truth, justice, and closure after decades of silence.
