Fears That Tuam Mass Grave May Extend beneath Local Houses

By Declan Rooney
Irish Independent
March 4, 2017

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/fears-that-tuam-mass-grave-may-extend-beneath-local-houses-35500870.html

Residents fear that the mass grave in Tuam may stretch beyond the mother and baby home and below local houses.

An information meeting for the residents of the Tobar Jarlath and Dublin Road estates in Tuam was called at short notice yesterday by Galway County Council.

But only three residents attended the meeting with local elected representatives and council staff.

According to Cllr Peter Roche, short notice was the reason for the lower-than-expected turnout.

Cllr Roche confirmed that there were concerns locally that the site might be bigger than first thought and could actually stretch into some private residences.

The Tuam Mother and Baby Home closed in 1961 and a few years later the Dublin Road and Tobar Jarlath estates were constructed on and beside the site.

"The residents for the best part chose not to attend the meeting. There was a lot of fear, a lot of emotion and for one reason or another they chose to be briefed at home. And that's perfectly acceptable," Cllr Roche said.

"They [the residents] weren't angry, but they are deeply traumatised, because the suspicions they had for many, many years were confirmed."