A small Irish community has been rocked by allegations that the
bodies of dead children may have been interred in a disused septic tank
behind a former home for unmarried mothers. The home, located in the
town of Tuam near Galway city, had been run by the Bon Secours nuns from
the 1920s to the 1960s.
While initial news reports indicated that up to 800 bodies may be buried in the tank, the actual number — if any — is not clear. The assertions stemmed from documents supplied by local historian Catherine Corless, who has said records show 796 children died at the home. The Irish Mail, drawing on those documents, said that:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/03/318545130/in-ireland-a-macabre-discovery-at-old-home-for-unwed-mothers
While initial news reports indicated that up to 800 bodies may be buried in the tank, the actual number — if any — is not clear. The assertions stemmed from documents supplied by local historian Catherine Corless, who has said records show 796 children died at the home. The Irish Mail, drawing on those documents, said that:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/03/318545130/in-ireland-a-macabre-discovery-at-old-home-for-unwed-mothers