Excavation begins to unearth Ireland’s dark past: How 796 babies were discarded in a sewage tank

Workmen prepare at the excavation site of the Mother and Baby institution in Tuam, at the site in Co Galway, western Ireland, on July 7, 2025, ahead of excavations commencing.

A full-scale forensic excavation has begun in Tuam, County Galway, at the former site of the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, where the remains of approximately 796 infants and young children are believed to lie in an unmarked grave. The planned two-year probe by Irish and foreign experts in Tuam comes more than a decade after an amateur historian first uncovered evidence of a mass grave there.

Subsequent 2016-2017 test excavations found significant quantities of baby remains in a subterranean disused septic tank at the location, which now sits within a housing complex.

A grave hidden in plain sight

Catholic nuns ran a so-called "mother and baby" institution there between 1925 and 1961, housing women who had become pregnant outside of marriage and been shunned by their families.

After giving birth, some children lived in the homes too but many more were given up for adoption under a system that often saw church and state work in tandem.

During this period, nearly 800 children, as young as newborns to toddlers aged three, died at the church-run home. Though death records exist, only two children were officially buried nearby, raising disturbing questions about the burial of others.

Historian Catherine Corless, a native of Tuam, uncovered this truth in 2014 after decades of research into death certificates and cemetery logs.

A pilot dig in 2017 uncovered twenty underground chambers filled with human remains, confirming Corless’ suspicions. Forensic dating affirmed the remains belonged to children from 1925–1961, aged 35 weeks gestational age to three years.

A complex forensic endeavour

Led by Daniel MacSweeney and the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT), the excavation team includes international experts from Colombia, Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US, alongside Irish specialists.

“This is a very challenging process — really a world‑first… We need to recover the remains very, very carefully – to maximise the possibility of identification,” said Daniel MacSweeney.

“Many of the remains are ‘commingled’… We have a suite of methods by which we can attempt to sort commingled remains… assign biological sex… assisting us with individualisation and reassociation processes,” Dr Niamh McCullagh, senior forensic consultant, elaborated.

Legal framework

The Institutional Burials Act 2022 legally enabled the dig. Forensic and legal frameworks ensure respectful and meticulous recovery.

The Irish government has allocated a budget of €6–€13 million; the Bon Secours order has pledged €2.5 million.

Purpose of excavation

The excavation aims to ensure every child receives a respectful burial and, where possible, individual identification. Unidentified remains will be interred with dignity.

This excavation confronts a harrowing national shame – one of Ireland’s darkest institutional failures.

From the 1960s onward, tales of abuse, neglect, and illicit adoptions have surfaced in similar homes across Ireland.

Historian Catherine Corless, whose tireless work led to this moment, said she was “so relieved” that formal excavation is now underway.