The site of a mass grave in Tuam, Ireland, has become the focus of attention as the exhumation of nearly 800 buried children begins. Historical records indicated that local authorities had prior knowledge of the burial grounds. Catherine Corless's investigation in 2014 revealed the deaths and missing burial records. Public engagement in 2018 offered options for memorialization versus forensic excavation. The tragic history of the mother-and-baby institution run by nuns highlights the disturbing neglect and the delayed recognition of this dark chapter.
A technical drawing from the 1970s of the council housing estate built on the grounds showed old children's burial ground written directly above proposed playground. Local authorities knew long ago.
News first broke in 2014 after Catherine Corless, who was working on a history project, tracked down death certificates for nearly 800 children for whom there were almost no burial records.
It is a vindication of Corless's work that the exhumation is taking place, but also disturbing that it was never a certainty.
In 2018, the public was asked what should be done. I keep thinking of the talking stone, a lump of grey felt handed around a public meeting organized by Galway county council.
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