22 infant remains recovered at Tuam home, total 99

The remains of 22 more infants have been recovered from the site of the former St. Mary's Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, officials announced on July 22, 2026. The discovery brings the total number of infant remains found at the site to 99 since the forensic excavation began in July 2025.

The latest remains were recovered between June 1 and July 15 from an area on the southwestern edge of the site that had been covered with gravel and used for vehicle access, with no surface markers to indicate burials. The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (ODAIT), the agency conducting the search, stated the infants were found in coffins and that hand-excavation is continuing. The excavation aims to identify the remains of infants who died at the institution between 1925 and 1961.

Daniel MacSweeney, director of ODAIT, said the concentration of 99 sets of remains buried closely together has justified the decision to begin excavations outside the site's memorial garden, where a 2017 commission found "significant quantities" of child and infant remains in subsurface chambered tanks. He explained the current area was indicated on a 1970s planning map as a burial...