Mass grave of children discovered in Irish septic tank

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of child deaths, mass graves, and institutional abuse that some readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised.

What started as quiet curiosity in a small Irish town led to one of the country’s most haunting discoveries. Beneath an ordinary patch of grass in Tuam, County Galway, the remains of hundreds of infants and young children have been uncovered.

The site was once part of a mother and baby home run by the Bon Secours nuns between 1925 and 1961. For decades, the land remained undisturbed after the home was demolished in 1972. Now, the horrific reality of what happened at that institution is finally being addressed.

Local historian Catherine Corless uncovered the truth after years of independent research. She produced evidence in 2014 showing that 796 children, from newborns to a nine-year-old, had died at the home. It was her findings that pushed the Irish government to investigate.

"There are so many babies, children just discarded here," Corless said at the site, standing at the place where the remains were found. Her research traced the likely burial site to a disused septic tank discovered in 1975.

"There are no burial records for the children, no cemetery, no statue, no cross, absolutely nothing," she said.

After years of campaigning by survivors, families, and advocates, excavation crews have now sealed off the area to begin recovery efforts. The work is set to start in the coming weeks.

"It's been a fierce battle, when I started this nobody wanted to listen, at last we are righting the wrongs," Corless said. "I was just begging: take the babies out of this sewage system and give them the decent Christian burial that they were denied."

The story of Tuam is part of a larger reckoning in Ireland with the country’s history of mother and baby homes. These institutions were places where unmarried women were sent to give birth in secret. Their babies were often taken away from them or, as Tuam revealed, buried in silence if they did not survive.

In a 2021 report, the Irish Commission of Investigation found "disquieting" levels of infant mortality at these institutions. Over seventy years, an estimated 9,000 children died in 18 such homes across Ireland. The Tuam home alone accounted for hundreds of those lost lives.

"All these babies and children were baptised but still the church turned a blind eye. It just didn't matter, they were illegitimate, that's the stance that they took," Corless said.

For families like that of Anna Corrigan, the discovery brought both answers and new questions. Corrigan only learned later in life that her mother gave birth to two sons at Tuam. One brother may have been illegally adopted, the other may be among the unidentified remains.

Corrigan keeps a copy of a 1947 inspection report that described her brother John as "a miserable emaciated child," despite being born healthy. She is now among those submitting DNA samples in hopes of finding relatives among the remains.

"They prevaricate, they obfuscate, they make it difficult for people to get to the truth," Corrigan said. "There are dirty little secrets in Ireland that have to be kept hidden, Ireland has a wholesome reputation around the world but there's also a dark, sinister side."

The excavation team, officially appointed in 2023, is tasked with recovering, memorializing, and respectfully reinterring the remains. For many families, the hope is that this work will finally bring recognition and dignity to those who were denied both in life and death.

"I never thought I'd see the day that we'd get over so many hurdles, push them to finally excavating what I call the 'pit,' not a grave," Corrigan said. "I'm glad it's starting, but if we can even find and identify a certain amount it's not going to give us all closure," she added.