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Updated 3.40pm
CATHERINE CORLESS HAS said she believes more remains of babies and children are likely to be buried under a playground near the former site of a mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway.
Galway County Council (GCC) has said there is no record to indicate any human remains were discovered during the construction of a housing estate adjacent to the former Bon Secours home in the 1970s.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, the local authority also said there are no records of the discovery of human remains during the subsequent development of a playground at the site.
The council added that all relevant records have been made available to the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie today, Corless said the housing estate is “in the outlying area” but she believes remains are buried under the playground, based on maps she has examined.
I really believe they have to be under that as well. There are bodies there, in coffins, from what I gather from the research I’ve done.
Corless said it’s likely no remains were found during the construction of the playground as it wasn’t necessary to dig very deep, just level out the ground.
“I know when they were building they found no bones … They wouldn’t have found anything as the dig didn’t go that deep, the coffins would be buried down so many feet.”
Vindication
On Friday, amateur historian Corless was vindicated by the Commission’s confirmation that a significant number of children’s bodies were found at the site in a structure which appears to be “related to the treatment/containment of sewerage and/or wastewater”.
During her research, Corless got a map of the site dating from the late 19th or early 20th century – when the building had been used as a workhouse.
By overlaying a map of the site as it looks today, she discovered that the place where bones were discovered by two boys playing in 1975 correlated exactly with where a sewage tank had been located during the building’s workhouse days. The tank had been put out of use in the 1930s when it stopped working.
The scale of the issue would likely not have been uncovered were it not for Corless’s tireless research, which found that 796 children died at the home and were not given an official burial place. Her work led to the recent excavation of the site.
An initial stratigraphic study was carried out at the Tuam site in October 2015 which identified an area of interest, which was then excavated between November 2016 and February 2017.
Scientific analysis found the remains are of children who died aged between 35 foetal weeks and two to three years.
It is understood there are currently no plans to carry out further excavations in the area.
‘Understandable emotion’
A spokesperson for GCC said, on foot of Friday’s announcement, “All households living in the immediate vicinity were engaged with on a one-to-one basis, where possible, and a leaflet drop in the extended area, covered approximately 120 homes.
The statement continued:
The council is conscious that time is required to allow families, the local community and all with a personal connection to the site, to deal with the understandable emotion associated with the confirmation of the discovery of human remains, by the Commission.
“The council, recognising that there are varying views, is committed to facilitating an appropriate consultation process with the local community, about the future of the site. The timeline for the consultation process will, of necessity, be influenced by the continuing work of the Commission, the statutory role of the coroner and the potential for involvement by other authorities.
“The council recognises that the confirmation, provided by the Commission was, and will continue to be, the cause of upset, being particularly difficult for all with a personal connection to the site. The council will continue to approach the issue with sensitivity and compassion, while continuing to support the work of the Commission and all relevant parties.”
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Terribly Sad..RIP
Is it just me or are the last few paragraphs out of place. They seem to call Greece a “Nordic country” and then ramble about Finland and Norway. The AFP is a shambles and the journal are worse for reprinting them!
@Toomasu Sumitsu: I honestly think the author has mixed up Greece and Sweden. Like they legitimately think Greece is in Northern Europe and they use “Kronor” (Krona really).
@Toomasu Sumitsu: No. It’s quite clear.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: No. ‘Kronor’ is acceptable. Plural.
@Toomasu Sumitsu:
Smoke got in the eyes!
@Toomasu Sumitsu: Don’t you know that the Nordic countries are ablaze also? The Arctic is on fire on all sides. The author is just pointing this out. Really this is a very alarming summer and the big picture is not being reported widely.
How desperately tragic. The horror those poor people went through….May they rest in peace.
This heat seems out of control..scary!
@Lad: once 2 degrees Celsius is hit, it will indeed be completely out of our control
@Irish Political GIF: Things are really out of whack. In the very north of Norway last week, the temperature hundreds of miles inside the Arctic circle reached an all time record. “The temperature did not drop below 25.2°C (77.4°F) the night of July 18 – 19. This destroyed the world record of highest minimum temperature for the Arctic”.
@Paraic: So it’s warmer in the Arctic at night than most of our daytime heatwave temperatures. Scary.
@Kem Trayle: Yes, scary indeed. And the Arctic is also on fire.
https://www.ecowatch.com/the-arctic-is-burning-2587826571.html
@Irish Political GIF: 2 degrees is a done deal. Projection look to be more like 4 or above. The feedback loops are really scary.
Over 70 dead too in Canada and dozens in Japan. Most frighting of all are the temperatures in Arctic and FINLAND Lapland: 32.2°C (90.0°F) NORWAY Namsskogan: 32.6°C SWEDEN Kvikkjokk: 32.5°C This is runaway global warming that will consume the planet – yet world continues to invest heavily in fossil fuels that are fueling global warming – Trump hands 77.3 million acres in Gulf waters to Big Oil – G7 give $100bn a year to fossil fuels – CanadaTrudeau 4 billion to by KM pipeline – Europe 9.5 billion on Nord Stream 2 fossil pipeline from Russia to Europe – and $400-billion on gas pipeline Siberia to China.
@GO GREEN: Not sure I would class this as “Runaway Global Warming”; however, I think proper short term preventions for these issues encountered, not just limit fossil fuels, but actually put resources into forest fire prevention, ensuring elderly populations are adequately monitored in extreme heat etc.
I think you will win zero battles tackling the root cause of Climate Change, best to fight at the edges.
@GO GREEN: It was warmer and dryer in 1976. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that global warming exist only sometimes there is extreme weather and this has not always to do with global warming.
@Hans Vos: The amount of co2 in the atmosphere is at it highest in a million years and that has just happened in just over 200 years since the start of the industrial revolution. Stepehen Hawking was one of the smartest people ever born and he said we were heading towards another Venus here on Earth. 90% of the Earth’s extra heat from global warming is absorbed by the oceans, but the oceans are becoming more acidic and dying. Gulf Stream has already slowed by 15% and this will have a major impact on Ireland.
@Hans Vos: Seventeen of the 18 warmest years in the 136-year record all have occurred since 2001. The chances of this not being as the result of human-caused climate change — care as low as one in 650 million.
@Hans Vos: you are in dreamland. EDUCATE YOURSELF
@Bill: global warming is a myth
With the temperatures hitting up to 40 degrees families with children head to the beach to cool down. An unimaginable and horrific way to go. Parents and children found in the water…. RIP, hope there will be serious international aid and resources sent to Greece which is just trying to pick itself up after a massive crash.
Respect to the firefighters and emergency services and a heartfelt sadness to the community R.I.P.
Very sad and tragic!! Those poor people didn’t stand a chance. R.I.P
One would wonder if some of these fires were started with a criminal intent to facilitate robbery of premises.Maybe karma has caught up with some of the perpitrators.
@Jim Sullivan: There is no land registry in Greece (meaning there are no areas that are outrightly protected from private development) so deliberately starting fires in order to clear the land and purchase it on the cheap is a tactic that has been used in Greece.
If it were me I’d hope the smoke would get me first.
@Kem Trayle:
It usually does.
Not that that is any consolation.
This is just horrific . Poor , poor people and also all the animals . I hope there’s a solidarity fund one can contribute to soon and that international help can mobilise with urgency .
@Isabel Oliveira: it’s Greece, money will go into greedy pockets, sadly.
This is so sad…and to make it worse it could of been started on purpose…
Thought the blood moon was for Friday……
Can anyone explain to me how the cars are completely obliterated but the trees are still green and standing. Or parasols are intact on the beach and plastic chairs too but the ground is scorched. Or some houses are burnt right beside trees that are not touched? Study the photos and see for yourselves.
@Black Bird: fire can change direction extremely quickly and it didn’t help that they had 100kmph winds
have your say