Monday marked the start of an excavation of horrific proportions in Ireland.
That marked the beginning of excavation work at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, in western Ireland in the hopes of identifying the remains of the approximately 800 infants and young children who died there, per the Associated Press.
The home was run by an order of Catholic nuns. It closed in 1961. While it was open, it housed tens of thousands of orphans and unmarried pregnant women. It was at a time when unmarried pregnant women were forced to give up their babies.
The horrific past came to light in 2014 when historian Catherine Corless found death certificates for about 800 children who died at the home in Tuam between the 1920s and 1961. However, she could only find one burial record for one child.
The nuns who ran the home gave a “profound apology.” They noted the failed to “protect the inherent dignity” of those they were charged to keep safe.
“It’s a very, very difficult, harrowing story and situation. We have to wait to see what unfolds now as a result of the excavation,” Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said.
Daniel MacSweeney, who heads the exhumation, said survivors and family members will be able to view the work.
“This is a unique and incredibly complex excavation,” MacSweeney said.
It should take about two years to complete.
