Connacht Tribune
Tuam residents are left to wonder what still lies undiscovered
Around 80 residents in Tuam are now wondering if they are sitting on the remains of dead children that were buried in the mother and baby home in the town; and they fear that their properties could now be excavated as the next part of this horrific investigation begins.
Homeowners on Athenry Road in Tuam, whose houses were built on the site of the Tuam mother and baby home, are now concerned that they could be living over shallow graves. Some are anxious that the matter be investigated.
The houses at Athenry Road in Tuam were built around during the 1970s when the mother and baby home was long closed. The houses were constructed by Galway County Council at the time.
Following last weekend’s revelation that human remains were discovered at the Tuam home, local residents are now concerned that their properties may have been built over ‘unofficial’ graveyards.
The revelation of the discovery of the children’s remains does not come as a surprise to local residents who either knew or had their suspicions that kids were buried there.
Residents are now of the belief that they are sitting on houses that are graveyards to little children who died in the home. They now want to place memorials there as opposed to having their gardens dug up.
Former resident of the area, Mary Moriarty moved into her house in 1975 and said that the site at the time contained a hospital, church and an old house before they were demolished.
She said that she saw a young boy playing with a skull and stick. She asked to see it and knew it was that of a child of around eleven as it had a full set of teeth. He told her that he had found it in a tank where there were “loads of them”.
Ms Moriarty said that it was outside the graveyard, where the current excavations took place, and she saw bones down there. There was a subsidence in the ground and she went down into the hole.
She saw what she described as “little bundles” wrapped in cloth. She immediately thought they were children, who weren’t baptised, who were put there. “I thought they were still-born babies,” she said.
Ms Moriarty said that Galway County Council had “an awful cheek” to give planning permission to build houses there when they knew there was a structure underneath.
“For me, they should not have built houses on it. There are tombs all over the place”, she maintained. She believes that there are graves underneath the playground which was built on the Bon Secours site as well as underneath the houses. Galway County Council have insisted that this is not the case.
The facility in Tuam was run by the Bon Secours sisters and closed in 1961. It has become the subject of an intense Garda investigation at the moment. The vast majority of nuns who ran the facility are now dead.
But the residents of Athenry Road and Tubberjarlath in Tuam now fear that they may be living on the remains of children’s bodies. However, they do not want their properties excavated as part of an investigation.
“We want to leave things as they are. There is nothing to be gained by further digs,” another resident told The Connacht Tribune.
After the home for mothers and babies closed down in the early 1960s, the grounds were taken over by Galway County Council who later built houses there. It is estimated that there are around 80 houses built on the mother and baby home in Athenry Road in Tuam.
Following the weekend revelations, residents are now concerned that they may be living on properties where children have been buried. But the vast majority do not want their properties unearthed as part of the ongoing inquiry. They want them to be left alone.
Most of the residents in the general Athenry Road area of Tuam were not shocked by the findings of Galway County Council who revealed that they had discovered human remains at the site. For the past 45 years local residents either knew or had their suspicions that there were children buried on the site of the mother and baby home.
Many want the situation exposed while there are others who simply want the situation to be acknowledged and a plaque erected in the memory of those buried there.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
