Overview
- An 18-member international team led by Daniel MacSweeney began excavations on July 14 at the demolished St Mary’s Mother and Baby Home in Tuam
- Excavators are probing a former septic tank where nearly 796 infants were clandestinely buried between 1925 and 1961
- DNA samples already collected from about 30 relatives will guide identification efforts over the next two years
- The Institutional Burials Act of 2022 and a 2021 government apology paved the way for these formal forensic recoveries
- The Sisters of the Bon Secours have contributed €2.5 million to fund the project while remaining liable for potential compensation claims