Barnorama All Fun In The Barn
Throughout history many dark and disturbing things have happened. Wars have ravaged cities, torn families apart and resulted in atrocities committed against innocent men, women and children. However, those dark times don’t make the more unknown tragedies less terrible.
In a town in western Ireland called Tuam, a mass grave was recently found in someone’s septic tank. A sewer was filled with the remains of about 800 babies. The tank stood on a site that was a former home for “fallen women” and their illegitimate children. The Home, as it was called, was open between 1925 and 1961. More death than life passed through its doors.
The women who lived here were paying a penance of indentured servitude for their out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
Many eventually left the Home for work… their children weren’t so lucky.
At the time, unmarried pregnant women in Ireland were ostracized for societal and religious reasons.
Malnutrition and terrible neglect killed many of the children.
Others died of measles, convulsions, TB, gastroenteritis and pneumonia. The infant mortality at the Home was high.
Now, plans are being made for a memorial service for the children and the erection of a marker at the site of the mass grave. People online are also calling for a deeper investigation into this tragedy.
Children from as young as a few hours old to 9yrs of age. (1925-1961) Catherine Corliss (Historian) discovered this through her research. She said she was told that a lot of children were buried without coffins. A local committee want to commemorate all the children who died by erecting a plaque with all their names and details. It is also been said that this is not an isolated case. There were similar homes around the country at the time. It’s believed they too could throw up a similar story. The Church and Religious orders in Ireland destroyed many many lives…