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At the site of a former home for unwed mothers in County Galway, chilling evidence of abuse and death of children born out of wedlock has emerged. Excavations have begun to exhume the remains, while shocking testimonies from survivors continue to emerge

The mystery deepens over the remains of hundreds of babies and children found buried in a mass grave at the site of the former St Mary’s Home religious institution in Tuam, County Galway, western Ireland. The facility, which operated from 1925 to 1961 and was dedicated to unwed mothers, is at the centre of a scandal that was brought to light only eleven years ago by a local historian.

Yesterday, official excavations began, coordinated by the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention (Odait), to exhume the bodies of the children, many of whom were born out of wedlock in an era marked by strong moral taboos and social stigmatisation.

The testimony of PJ Haverty, who claims to have been one of the 3,349 children taken in by the facility and to have lived there for the first six years of his life, paints a chilling picture of physical and psychological abuse. Haverty says he was treated like “trash” because he was born out of wedlock, describing the institution as a veritable prison. ‘I would run home and cry myself to sleep. At one point, I even thought about taking my own life,’ said the survivor, who was later adopted by an aunt.

The institution was almost completely demolished about fifty years ago; only a six-metre-high wall of the former chapel and dining room remains. Today, the six-acre site is home to a residential complex with spaces for children.

The discovery has attracted many visitors who have left shoes, toys and soft toys in memory of the children whose remains will now be exhumed and studied. The story reopens the debate on the rights of mothers and children in a past marked by shame and repression, and on the importance of truth and historical memory.

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