Council says sorry for Home

 

CATHAOIRLEACH of Galway County Council Cllr James Charity has offered a sincere and humble apology for the failings of the local authority in relation to the Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

Cllr Charity and CEO of the Co Council Kevin Kelly made separate statements at a meeting of the Council in Corrandulla this morning (Monday).

Cllr Charity said that the local authority at the time was “far more consumed with mundane budgetary and financial oversight than its role as custodian of those who were most vulnerable and required its care and protection”.

He said the Council should have put the needs and welfare of the most vulnerable in our society to the fore. “To our eternal shame, this Council failed both mothers and their children at a time when they most needed its support and protection the most.”

CEO Kevin Kelly said that the Commission’s report detailed the appalling conditions in the Tuam home. “It is also clear that the death rate among infants in the Tuam Mother and Bay Home was noted and while known to be a multiple of the general population did not prompt appropriate action,” said Mr Kelly.

Cllr Charity also pointed out that it is 60 years since Galway Co Council took a vote at a meeting in January 1961 to close the Tuam home.

“The lack of respect and dignity afforded to the women and children in death is also particularly upsetting and a source of great hurt and sorrow. The Council accepts its role in failing to ensure that these individuals were afforded the dignity of an appropriate and respectful resting place,” added Mr Kelly.

The Council is committed to supporting access to archives and records for survivors and to assist the planned work to excavate the site. Mr Kelly also acknowledged the “dedicated care, commitment and respect the local residents in Tuam have afforded to maintaining the site in Tuam over several decades.

Cllr Charity described local historian and researcher Catherine Corless as a heroine whom is deserving of their admiration and profound and deepest respect.

The Council have agreed to hold a special meeting to discuss the Commission’s report further.