Gardai ‘will probe Tuam babies horror’ Fitzgerald: digs at more sites must follow
JUSTICE Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said it is “inevitable” that gardai will be involved in the investigation into the discovery of a mass grave of infants and children in Tuam, Co Galway. Speaking to the Sunday
Independent, the Tanaiste also insisted that other child burial sites should be examined, a signal that the Mother and Baby Homes inquiry may broaden its excavations to other religious institutions.
“It is inevitable that once the coroner finishes its work there will be a role for the gardai. It’s not entirely clear what the parameters of that would be right now but that will be worked out,” she said last night.
“We will have to face the pain of it. Not just on this site but on other sites because it is the only way we can put this tragedy in context in order to move forward.”
In a reference to the current abortion debate, the Tanaiste said the country had a “very tortured relationship” with women and pregnancy.
“For now we have to focus on this incredibly painful situation and think of the families and the harsh and dreadful experiences these women endured,” she said.
But she added: “Respecting women and the dignity of women and pregnancy will help us in dealing with this.”
The Bon Secours religious order which ran the St Mary’s home in Tuam will come under renewed scrutiny from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes following the discovery of the children’s remains.
The commission said it was “shocked” at the find and was now investigating “who was responsible for the disposal of human remains in this way”.
Survivors of the homes and their supporters have called on the Bon Secours order to fund a process of tracing the relatives the deecased.
Peter Mulryan, a former resident of Tuam whose younger sister is believed to have died there aged 10 months, said: “They should be made to pay for everything — themselves and the State.”
Local historian Catherine Corless, whose research on the deaths of children at the home led to the establishment of the Commission of Investigation, told the Sunday Independent last night: “This mess does not belong to the survivors. This mess belongs to the Bon Secours sisters.
“If a DNA centre has to be set up and funded, who should fund it? The Bon Secours sisters are responsible. Galway County Council are responsible as well as they own the grounds.” Speaking to the Sunday
Independent yesterday, Mr Mulryan said he had been trying to trace his sister, Marian Brigid, whose death was registered but for whom there were no burial records. He began legal proceedings against Tusla, the child and family agency, to access records.
Mr Mulryan said he was both elated and saddened on hearing the discovery, and hoped that he may now be able to trace his sister. “I haven’t a clue until the DNA is done whether she was fostered out to America or sold off or dead. I do not know. Not a clue. She was 10 years younger than me. So many of them were shipped off to America at that time,” he said.
If Marian Brigid is positively identified, he said: “I will take her out of there anyway, and bring her to our family plot. Friday was a very special day. I never thought March 3, 2017 would be such a historical day in my life. It was the first sign of hope.”
The commission announced that test excavations on the grounds had led to the discovery of a “significant number” of human remains.
The remains — which ranged from 35 foetal weeks to three years — were deposited in a disused underground structure that may have been part of a sewerage system. The structure was divided into 20 chambers and remains have been found in 17 of them.
Sources said the number of bodies deposited in the structure could run to the hundreds. In a statement released on Friday, the Bon Secours religious order said it could make no comment as the records were returned to Galway County Council when the home closed in 1961. The statement said the sisters were “fully committed” to the work of the commission.