A major excavation is underway in Tuam, Ireland, to unearth the remains of nearly 800 babies and young children buried in an unmarked mass grave at the site of a former Catholic-run mother and baby home.
The excavation, expected to last two years with follow-up work for another three years, aims to identify the remains and provide dignified burials. The site, St Mary's Mother and Baby Home, operated from 1925 to 1961, and records show 796 infants and young children died during that period.
Local historian Catherine Corless's research in 2014 brought global attention to the site, revealing the babies were buried in a sewage tank without proper burial rites.
The Bon Secours Sisters, who ran the home, apologized for their role in the "disrespectful and unacceptable" burials. DNA samples have been collected from around 80 relatives to aid identification. Experts from Ireland and abroad, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Colombia, are working together on the excavation
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