Overview

• Forensic teams under the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention have commenced 24-hour excavations at the site of the former Bon Secours Sisters home in Tuam.
• Specialists are methodically unearthing bones from a defunct septic tank where nearly 800 infants and young children may have been buried.
• DNA sampling has begun to identify recovered remains and facilitate reunions with surviving relatives.
• The excavation is enabled by the 2022 Institutional Burials Act and follows a 2018 government approval of a full forensic dig.
• Survivors and family members are actively engaging with officials and sharing personal accounts as they seek recognition, closure and proper reinterment.