Tuam mother and baby home investigation team receives advice on possible exhumations

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The expert group investigating the former mother and baby home site in Tuam is being advised by an international authority on the excavation of human remains. An extensive geophysical survey was undertaken on site last month. According to a statement published by the Department of Children, the latest survey consisted of data collection through a variety of non-invasive techniques, over the course of 5 days. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been consulted by the expert group as a technical examination of the site nears completion. Extraction and analysis of DNA are among the key issues the group is considering. The group has also liaised with Tuam Gardai and the coroner for North Galway, as well as the National Monuments Service and Forensic Science Ireland. Local historian Catherine Corless has estimated that the remains of up to 800 babies could be buried at the site on the Athenry Road.