Update on the Tuam Famine Burials

By Finn | Thursday, February 2, 2012

Location

Ireland
53° 30' 29.8404" N, 8° 50' 38.2632" W
Open in: Google Maps

The excavation of the probable famine era burials associated with the Tuam workhouse on the Atherny Road in Toberjarlath on the south eastern outskirts of Tuam is still progessing. Close to 45 burials have now been recorded and excavated in our small excavtion area. The area needs to be extended slightly in order to access the area presently under the footpath to the north east. We are hoping that the excavations will be completed next week. I took the opportunity to talk with the excavation crew (David O'Reily, Ray O'Riordain, Ann Bingham and Brendan Kelly) last week about their work at the site and the following audio snippets reveal a bit more about the reasons for the excavation, the realities and practicalities of the excavation, some historical context and the local reaction to the work.

Blog Stories
The mitigation strategy for the excavation The mitigation strategy for the excavation

David O'Reilly tells us about the excavation strategy at the site and how things have been...

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Excavating a burial Excavating a burial

Ann Bingham runs us through the process of excating and recording a burial.

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The historical context of the burials The historical context of the burials

A discussion on the historical context of the excavated burials.

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The rationale for the excavation The rationale for the excavation

The rationale behind the excavation and our reluctance to excavate burials at all.

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The local interest The local interest

Ray O'Riordain explains the local reaction to the excavation.

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