Denise Gormley and her 7-year-old daughter, Rosa, pay their respects at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co. Galway. Photo: CNS/Clodagh Kilcoyne. Seven sets of human remains that likely belong to infants have been discovered at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam, Co. Galway, according to the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, ODAIT.
In an update released this morning, November 7, the report states: “forensic experts also confirmed that seven sets of human remains were recovered from this area, in a location adjacent to the underground vaulted structures… Initial assessment indicates that these skeletal remains belong to infants and a full analysis will be carried out to estimate age at death.”
However, ODAIT has been unable to date the remains and is sending them for analysis.
“As it is currently undetermined which era these human remains are from, ODAIT cannot say at this time whether they are from the Workhouse era (1841 to 1918), the military era (1918 to 1925) or the Mother and Baby Institution era (1925 to 1961). Radiocarbon dating and other analysis is being carried out to aid in determining their era of origin. Analysis to determine their era of origin is expected to take at least three months to complete and the results will be published in a technical update once received.”
ODAIT stresses that the underground vaulted structures where the remains were found nearby are not “the multi-chambered tank in the memorial garden, which was located in 2016/17. The memorial garden will be excavated later in this process.” ODAIT says that it will take at least three months to date the remains found.