Everything we know so far as forensic team digs for remains of nearly 800 babies buried at former ‘mother and baby home’

A historic excavation at the site of a former ‘mother and baby home’ in Ireland has begun, with forensic teams aiming to identify the remains of nearly 800 babies.

The mass graveyard at the site of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in County Galway has been dubbed a ‘stain’ on Ireland‘s conscience since it was discovered back in October 2016.

It was found thanks to the incredible work of historian Catherine Corless, who pioneered the revelation that 798 infants had died at a ‘mother and baby home’.

Two corpses had been located all the way back in 1975 at the site, but residents assumed it was simply a famine-era grave – which references the Potato Famine of 1845 – and it was re-sealed.

Corless discovered that while there was documentation of the babies’ deaths, there was no mention as to where the children were buried.

Here’s everything we know about the new work that has commenced at the site, including how the children are thought to have died, where their remains have been found, and the dark history of Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home that looms over Ireland all these years on.

What is a ‘mother and baby home’?

Mother and baby homes were residences where unwed moms came to shelter from the Irish society where they were ostracized due to the country’s deep Catholic roots.

According to a flagship report from the Irish Government’s Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), almost half of all ‘illegitimate’ – born out of wedlock – infant deaths between 1935 and 1945 occurred in mother and baby homes.

Tragically, only a quarter of all ‘illegitimate’ kids living in Ireland at the time were housed in mother and baby homes.

Where were the remains of the babies found?
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