14 Jul KRW LAW STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF TUAM BABIES CAMPAIGNER, ANNA CORRIGAN
We act on behalf of Anna Corrigan who together with other campaigners such as Catherin Corless, has worked tirelessly to support families agitating over the suspected burial of almost 800 babies at the former site of St Mary’s Tuam, an institution for unmarried mothers. She lost a number of family members, including her two brothers John and William, both of whom she believes were unceremoniously buried in the now notorious grave site. Annie’s mother was but one of a significant number of women and girls who were effectively detained against their will by nuns from the Bon Secours Religious Order.
Her journey to get to this stage, like so many others, has been tortuously slow as well as being fraught with obfuscation at every turn. Today a team of Irish and international forensic expert will begin excavations at the hitherto nondescript site in a bid to retrieve the remains of hundreds of infants. It’s hoped much needed information will now be obtained in order to assess exactly how and why so many souls met their fate.
Speaking after the opening day of excavations Irish Human Rights Lawyer Kevin Winters said,
“Anna Corrigan, like so many others, has waited a long time for this moment. It’s intensely emotional for her but also frustrating given the gnawing sense of unfinished business. She welcomes the excavation work which is likely to take anything up to two years to complete and sees today as an opportunity to again call upon the Irish Government to engage on unresolved legal issues connected to the Recovery process.
Over 18 months ago we wrote to Gardai including local Gardai at Tuam urging them to treat the scandal as a criminal investigation. Despite repeated requests from both Anna and ourselves they failed to assign Gardai PULSE investigation numbers until last month when she received confirmation they would issue. We have written to Gardai in Galway urging the immediate release of the numbers. The industrial volumes of buried infants and the manner in which they met their fate clearly points to criminality. It will be momentous to see the assignment of PULSE record numbers as that crystallises formal criminal investigation status upon this historical human rights debacle.
Equally important is the requirement that the Coroner in Galway upscales intervention after opening up the case as far back as 2017. There needs to be an inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Annie’s siblings and all the other unexplained deaths.
We are also instructed by Annie to launch High court civil proceedings against a number of agencies and institutions including the Order of The Sisters of Bon Secours over the circumstances surrounding the death and disappearance of Annie’s brothers.
There was a suffocating toxicity about the historic Irish State- Catholic Church relationship which helped foment the horrors of Tuam. However, this almost Mediaeval barbarity occurred within living memory. Tuam is in danger of becoming a by word for cruelty unless both State agencies and The Church respond promptly and transparently to the latest legal agitation touching upon criminal investigation ; inquests and compensation.”
Adding her voice to the latest developments Anna Corrigan said,
“Today is both welcome and difficult. Whilst it’s a relief to see work started on the site it’s really only the latest stage in what is still a long road for all of us. I accept there are technical issues arising from the exhumation which may impact on decision making by the Attorney General;
The Coroner in Galway and The Gardai and others but the least we can expect now is expressions of support plus a commitment to reviewing all previous decision making.
I won’t rest until I see justice for my two brothers who not only need a proper Christian burial but also the full rigours of the law both domestic and international applied. What happened at
Tuam was criminal so there needs to be both Church and State accountability. The Government can’t just do a Pontius Pilate and wash their hands of this and blame the nuns and the Catholic Church.
They have a complicity in all of this as well. Any solutions which exclude the State won’t be tolerated by me or anyone else. We’ve fought far too hard to get to here and we certainly don’t want to see this important excavation work carried out in vain.
There are so many people I want to thank including Jim McVeigh from Belfast and our lawyers including KRW LAW led by Chris Stanley together with Carl Buckley of Guernica Chambers whose guidance and direction has helped to chart a path through many of the legal complexities.
We have much more work to be done before we can feel anywhere near satisfied. “