Support group launches for survivors of former Tuam Mother and Baby Home

A SUPPORT group aimed at offering solidarity and friendship for survivors of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home will be officially launched this weekend.

The Tuam Home Survivors Network will be launched by local researcher Catherine Corless and film-maker Mia Mullarkey on Saturday in Tuam.
The launch takes place ahead of a screening of the award-winning short documentary 'Mother and Baby' made by Mia Mullarkey's Ishka films which was premiered at the Cork Film Festival last month.
The group came about informally during the summer and have met every few weeks since then. There are now more than 20 members and this number is expected to grow once the network is officially launched. 

Meanwhile a three-month consultation is about to begin seeking the public's views as to what should happen at the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Minister for Children Katherine Zappone published the final report of the Expert Technical Group on five options available for the site. These range from returning the site to its former state and managing it as a memorial, to the most invasive, including a full examination of the memorial garden, playground and car park area at Dublin Road. The costs of the various options have been estimated between €500,000 and €5 million.
The report highlights a number of challenges regarding DNA analysis and any efforts to identify individual remains.
Galway County Council has been charged with commissioning the independent consultation process on the options for the site and will announce details of how this will operate early in the New Year. 

Read more in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald