Tuam excavation: Remains of more than 20 coffined infants recovered

22 coffined infants were recovered during the latest reporting period from the forensic excavation at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam, Co Galway.

The remains of 22 coffined infants were recovered in an area of the Tuam site where forensic excavation commenced in this reporting period, June 1 through July 15. Hand-excavation is continuing in this area, the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT) said on Wednesday.

The 22 coffined infants come in addition to the remains of 77 infants that were recovered in a separate area of the site during earlier reporting periods.

In a third area of the excavation site during this reporting period, the forensic excavation of all deposits within the subterranean chamber was completed. Disarticulated human remains (individual bones) from at least one infant were recovered; however, ODAIT believes there was no evidence that these remains had been intentionally placed within this chamber. These skeletal elements were found at the base of a manhole, or access chamber, and were located above deposits containing material evidence of pre-institutional date.

On Thursday, ODAIT is set to meet with Tuam survivors and family members to update them on its work and outline its approach to forensic analysis. ODAIT said the meeting will be an important opportunity for survivors and family members to meet ODAIT’s team and ask questions about its work.

A forensic excavation team member working inside the subterranean vaulted structure. (ODAIT)

Artefacts

The artefactual evidence found within the subterranean chamber included several intact and many more fragmentary glass bottles, ODAIT said on Wednesday.

Round-bottom torpedo bottles marked “Bewley and Draper Dublin.P.” and “Thwaites Dublin Registered A&R Thwaites & Co Trade Mark." (ODAIT)

The identifiable bottles include torpedo soda bottles marked ‘Bewley and Draper, Dublin’ and ‘Thwaites, Dublin’.

The Registered Trade Mark stamp on one of these informed ODAIT it was produced after 1875, when the UK Trade Marks Act was enacted.

Torpedo bottle with a pointed base marked “A. & R. Thwaites & Co." (ODAIT)

Identification Programme

ODAIT said on Wednesday that the Identification Programme team collected an additional seven DNA reference samples during this period, which have been delivered to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI). This brings the total number of DNA reference samples taken to 62.

ODAIT said it is continuing to engage with first cousins to prepare for the statutory determination process pending the Government's amendment to the Institutional Burials Act 2022 to include first cousins as eligible family members who can provide a DNA sample. The team will continue to reach out to first cousins as part of this process. 

ODAIT is encouraging anyone who believes they may have a family member buried at the site of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Institution to call +353 (0)1 539 1777, email info@dait.ie, or visit ODAIT.ie for more information.

Toghermore Forensic Facility and Mortuary

ODAIT’s forensic analysis is beginning at its new Forensic Facility and Mortuary in Toghermore following the works to the building and the fit-out of the laboratory delivered by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

ODAIT said the facility is essential to ensuring it can maintain dignity for the deceased and international best practice standards in its work.

Forensic analysis involves ODAIT’s team of experts cleaning, drying and examining the human remains with the goal of reconstructing details of their lives and deaths, within a complex and challenging environment. Following standardised forensic protocols and procedures, the team will position each individual’s remains in anatomical position before conducting non-invasive testing and analysis, including radiology, 3D scanning, and the application of methods designed to maximise the amount of qualitative and quantitative data that can be gleaned from human skeletal remains.

ODAIT said this process is hugely valuable and necessary to allow them to attempt to individualise each set of human remains. ODAIT’s skeletal experts will work to build a picture of each deceased person’s life, potentially including their sex and their age at the time of death. These details may narrow the number of possible matching individuals and help to connect a skeletal individual with a name.

ODAIT cautioned that while all forensic analyses are challenging, the complexity of the work at Tuam is increased by the expected young ages of the individuals and the length of time that has passed since death occurred. Environmental factors may also hinder how much information ODAIT can detect about each individual.

July 22, 2026: Dr. Allysha P. Winburn, Forensic Laboratory Coordinator in the new Forensic Facility and Mortuary in Toghermore prior to commencement of case work at ODAIT, Tuam. (Andrew Downes / xposure)

The Forensic Facility and Mortuary will also act as a base for ODAIT's team in Tuam. The use of this distinct part of the Toghermore campus has been facilitated by the OPW, with the support of the HSE. The project represents a State investment of approximately €4.1m to bring the building up to current performance standards. This comprehensive programme of works included the refurbishment of the building for approximately €2.5 million including asbestos removal, new electrical wiring, new plumbing, and the fit-out of the laboratory for approximately €1.6 million, with particular technical specifications, to required international standards.

Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed that once ODAIT vacates the facility upon completion of its work, the HSE will endeavour to utilise the refurbished areas for future services if deemed appropriate following local service engagement. 

About the Tuam Mother and Baby Home in Co Galway

The Tuam Mother and Baby Home was an institution for unmarried mothers and their children. Run by the Bon Secours Sisters, it operated from 1925 to 1961.

In 2014, local amateur historian Catherine Corless was researching the Tuam Home's history when she discovered records showing that 796 children had died at the Home, but burial records could not be found, sparking suspicion of a mass grave at the site.

"Significant quantities” of human remains were discovered at the site in 2016 and 2017.

In January 2021, nearly six years after the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation was launched, the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was published.

Including the Tuam Home, the Commission investigated 18 homes across Ireland, ultimately finding that "a total of about 9,000 children died in the institutions under investigation - about 15% of all the children who were in the institutions."

The report later states: "There is no single explanation for the appalling level of infant mortality in Irish mother and baby homes."

The report says that "a particular catalyst" for the formation of the investigative Commission "was the discovery by Catherine Corless of the possible burial arrangements for children who died in the Tuam Children’s Home."

Following the publication of the report, the Irish Government offered a formal apology to victims, survivors, and their relatives.

In November 2021, the Irish Government published its Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. Part of the plan was a commitment to "advance burials legislation to support the excavation, exhumation and, where possible, identification of remains, and their dignified reburial."

In July 2022, the Institutional Burials Act became law, allowing exhumations to take place at former Mother and Baby Homes across Ireland. Work is underway to amend the legislation to include first cousins as eligible family members.

The Irish Government established ODAIT as part of the Act in October 2022, and in May 2023, Daniel MacSweeney was tasked with overseeing the excavations of children's remains at the site at Tuam.

July 22, 2026: Daniel MacSweeney, Director of ODAIT, as ODAIT updates media on its progress and new Forensic Facility and Mortuary in Toghermore, Tuam. (Andrew Downes / xposure)

Pre-excavation works began at the Tuam site in June 2025, and the excavation commenced on July 14 last year.

The excavations, which are expected to take 24 months to complete, continue. The next technical update will be issued in September.