Mass grave under a playground: the little children can finally find their peace

Tanya von Arxforeign editor

The story is shocking. And that even after many years. Where children run, laugh and tease each other, the bones and skulls of other children are buried. They died of malnutrition, illness or the mother’s lack of care during pregnancy. The remains of nearly 800 babies and young children, including fetuses, lie beneath a playground in the western Irish town of Tuam. Next to debris and glass baby bottles in a suspicious sewer system.

Tragically, the bones are still there more than half a decade after they were discovered. As the “New York Times” writes, the little children should finally be given a dignified burial. Only: why did it take so long?

An incredible odyssey

It’s an odyssey that couldn’t be more incredible. But let’s start at the beginning: in the patriarchal and strictly Catholic Tuam, unmarried women, pregnant women and mothers were sent to the former mother-child home St. Mary’s Mother and Baby Home, where the playground is now. Under the care of the nuns of the order “Sisters of Bon Secours” they gave birth to their children. Then they were humiliated and exploited as laborers. After about a year, the sisters encouraged the mostly young women to leave the institution – without their children.

These, too, were not treated well in the government-funded facility, which had close ties to the Catholic Church. Many were lonely. And wherever they went after that, a veil of shame and sin surrounded them. The inhabitants of Tuam even called them “children of the devil” – the little ones were put up for adoption, given away and sent to industrial schools. Or: they died.

Only two of the 800 were buried correctly

It all came to light when local historian Catherine Corless, 68, came across a problematic bill. According to their research, at least 798 children died in St. Mary’s Mother and Baby Home during its operational period from 1925 to 1961. But only two were buried in the cemetery across the street. Corless guessed they must be underground in the grounds of the house, below the playground.

At first, Corless was not believed. Or you didn’t want to believe her, as reported by “Stern”. However, after government forensic archaeologists confirmed their acceptance, Ireland embarked on a long, painful journey of further investigation, self-blame, bureaucratic delays, heartbreak and denial.

Historian Corless fought tirelessly for the children. For their dignity, for a proper burial, as reported by “Irish Central”. In her view, the incidents went against the Catholic ethos and brought the whole of Ireland down.

She refuses the Pope

In 2018, for example, Corless used the Pope’s visit to Dublin, to which the Irish Prime Minister invited her because of her commitment, as an example. Namely, by not going – because she was told the Pope wouldn’t talk about it, the Catholic clergy wouldn’t take any responsibility. Instead, she attended a vigil in memory of the toddlers.

At the end of 2018, the Irish government actually took the path that Corless had in mind. However, officials said drafting the law would be difficult because of the exceptional situation they find themselves in. These include property access, data protection and privacy protection. Moreover, it was not easy to find suitable people to oversee this sensitive project.

This bill was supposed to be ready in 2019, but 2019 came and went – ​​and nothing happened.

2020 brought even more delays and stress.

Corless then visited the new Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Roderic O’Gorman (41). At the beginning of 2021, he submitted a draft to the responsible legal committee.

The Prime Minister apologizes publicly

At the same time, a report was published documenting emotional abuse in the home and estimating infant mortality at twice the average. The new Prime Minister Micheál Martin (62) then publicly apologized. The “Sisters of Bon Secours” did the same.

Corless appeared before a committee of the Irish Parliament a few months later to reiterate the history and urgency of the issue.

And now the solution is at hand. This summer, Ireland passed legislation allowing mass excavations. Parliament passed the Institutional Burials Bill, which Secretary O’Gorman announced in February. In addition to a dignified burial, it includes a DNA analysis for identification. And it is one of the most challenging projects ever undertaken in this field: costing the equivalent of more than 14 million francs, to which the “Sisters of Bon Secours” contribute nearly three million.

The scandal has even more consequences

Work is scheduled to start in 2023. The scandal surrounding mother-child homes has not yet been forgotten. There are other facilities besides Tuam, each with its own tragedy, and the government is in the process of approving an €800 million compensation package for those affected. As “recognition of the suffering” they experienced in the mother and child homes.

The playground in Tuam has been cordoned off today. A monument commemorates the much too short lives.