Dig starts at Irish home where 796 infants died

Preparatory excavations have begun at the site of the unmarried mothers' home in Tuam, County Galway, where the remains of 796 babies and young children are believed to be buried in a mass grave.

- Kim Willsher

The real work is scheduled to start next month, 13 years after local Irish historian Catherine Corless found records showing that hundreds of infants had died at the institution, which was run by the Bon Secours sisters, an order of Catholic nuns, between 1925 and 1961.

The battle to uncover the truth about Tuam has been long and painful for all involved. After Corless's research was highlighted by the Irish press, the Dublin government dragged its heels, eventually establishing a commission in 2015 to investigate what happened at Tuam and other mother and baby homes across Ireland.