Coroner will decide next step

MEDIA from all over the world are continuing to arrive in Tuam and visit the site where it was confirmed on Friday that the remains of babies and young children are buried.

It's not known how many “significant” is in relation to the remains found at the Home site. As Catherine Corless had discovered, there are records relating to the detaths of 796 children who died at the Tuam home during its 36 years of operation. The death certs indicate the children died from a variety of natural causes and it hasn't been confirmed how many of these children are buried on the site.

The next step is in the hands of the Coroner for North Galway who has legal responsibility for investigating sudden, unexplained and unnatural deaths.

While the Coroner for North Galway, who is based in Headford, isn't taking any calls from the media, it is known that he was aware of the Commission's work and visited the site in the course of the Commission's investigations. It is open to the coroner to call on the support of the Gardai and any other authorities as he may deem necessary.

It's likely to be a considerable time before Galway County Council makes any decision regarding the public consultation process on the future of the site as it will await the final report of the Commission.

Galway's County Councillors are expected to discuss a proposal at their monthly meeting in April to include the site on its list of Protected Structures. Catherine Corless has contacted councillors urging them to oppose any such move and that referring to the plot as a Garden of Peace is completely inappropriate.