'These kids have been crying for a long time to be heard'

FAMILIES and survivors of a notorious former mother and baby home in the west of Ireland are to visit the site today ahead of its major excavation next week.

- BY CILLIAN SHERLOCK

The full-scale dig of the site of St Mary's mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway will try to identify the remains of infants who died there between 1925 and 1961.

In 2014, research led by local historian Catherine Corless indicated 796 babies and young children were buried in a sewage system at the institution.

The St Mary's home for unmarried mothers and their children was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a religious order of Catholic nuns.

In 2021, Taoiseach Micheal Martin delivered an apology on behalf of the State for the treatment of women and children who were housed in mother and baby homes across Ireland.

The Bon Secours Sisters also offered a "profound apology" after acknowledging the order had