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Ireland Begins Exhumation of 796 Infants from Tuam Mother and Baby Home

An international forensic team is on a two-year mission using DNA analysis to recover remains of children buried in a former septic tank for dignified family burials

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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