DIRECTOR’S UPDATE
Recovery of remains from home site may take two years
THE recovery of remains from the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home site could take up to two years – longer if more remains than expected are found.
While there is still no date as to when physical excavation works of the site on Dublin Road will begin, the Director of Intervention at the site, Daniel MacSweeney, told The Tuam Herald that a lot of work is being done in the background and he is “happy with the progress” to date.
When Mr MacSweeney was appointed last year, he was alone; now there are three other staff members and many more will be appointed as the year goes on, from forensic experts to laboratory staff and administrators.
Mr MacSweeney has always been reluctant to give a possible timeline for when digging on the site will happen. The work being carried out in Tuam is a global first. The recovery of so many intermingled remains of such a young age, in one site, in a residential estate, hasn’t happened before and he is adamant that it must be done right.
“It’s not something that you can have a second chance at. If we’re going to maximise the number of identifiable remains, we have to do the best that we possibly can,” he said.
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