Forensic work to begin on excavated remains from Tuam Mother and Baby Home
So far 99 coffinised remains unearthed
A STATE-of-the-art forensic facility in Tuam will become operational at the end of the week and begin to receive the first remains of infants that have been excavated from the Mother and Baby Home site to date.
The multi-million-euro facility is located at the HSE Toghermore site on the outskirts of the town and has involved the extensive renovation of an existing building.
The Office of Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam ODAIT confirmed that the remains of a further 22 infants have been recovered from the Dublin Road site bringing the total to date to 99. In her research Catherine Corless found the death certificates of 796 babies and infants but there weren’t any matching burial records.
It is just over a year since formal excavation works began at the Tuam site and Director Daniel MacSweeney confirmed today (Wednesday) that he expects the work to continue past the initial two-year expected timeframe.
The 22 coffined infants were again discovered in a burial/grave site that is located away from what is known as the memorial garden where significant intermingled remains were discovered in 2016 in a disused sewage tank.
Up to now the excavated remains have been kept at a temporary facility in Headford but they will now be brought to the Forensic Facility and Mortuary in Tuam which will also act as a base for the ODAIT’s team.
The extensive project has cost €2.5 million with a further €1.6 million spent on the fit out of the laboratory. Members of the media were shown the facility today and relatives and survivors will be given the opportunity to visit the building tomorrow (Thursday). They will also be briefed on the excavation work to date and meet with some of those who have been involved in the forensic excavation.
It's not yet know when excavation work will begin on the memorial garden site.
“This is an important development and the start of a new stage of work in Tuam,” explained Director Daniel MacSweeney.
He pointed out that while it’s unlikely that all the remains will be able to be identified, the forensic analysis that will be carried out will give a greater insight and allow individual stories to be told.
Restore dignity
He said they hoped to “restore dignity and identify as much as possible” to the remains that are in unmarked graves.
Mr MacSweeney said this milestone marks a shift from statistics and numbers to individuals and persons.
“It’s very important to have the family members and survivors at the facility to show how we will take care of the remains.”
To date 62 DNA samples have been taken and sent to Forensic Science Ireland. Once DNA samples begin to be extracted from the recovered remains, comparison work can begin.
Mr MacSweeney also thanked the people of Tuam and the residents in Dublin Road for their great co-operation.
Tuam is unique site
The building in Toghermore – part of a former HSE Mental Health Campus in Tuam – has undergone significant redevelopment and once vacated by the ODAIT the HSE will use it for future services.
Dr Niamh McCullagh, Consultant Forensic Archaeologist, who was part of the initial test excavation of the memorial garden site in 2016, said there is “no comparable site in the world” to Tuam. She said the methods being used in Tuam offer the best opportunity to recover and identify the remains. The team of experts – many of whom are from around the world – are undertaking a task that has never been done before.
Dr McCullagh said the work of the forensic team is “physically and emotionally challenging”. Their motivation remains, she added. “We all have the one goal to have each of the individuals recognised as individuals, to discover who they were and how they died.
* Further reporting to come