During that time, the infant mortality rate in the Home was twice that in the population at large.Ĭatherine Corless, a local woman and hobbyist historian began to research the history of the Home ten years ago, and it was through her painstaking research that the children’s remains were uncovered. The Home was run by the Bon Secours nuns from 1937-1961. Women who re-offended and “fell” pregnant a second time were sent to a Magdalen Laundry and incarcerated there. The “Home” (what an oxymoron) was a place where unmarried pregnant women were effectively incarcerated for their sins, and in most cases, forced to give up their babies for adoption.

The Tuam Babies are the 796 children whose remains were discovered in a disused septic tank on the grounds of the old Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway. Part memoir, part detective story, Belonging is both Catherine's account, and that of those 796 children for whom she came to care so deeply: one of the tender love of a mother and her child of pain and trauma of the unforgettable screams which echoed through the corridors as children were taken from their mothers and of a mystery which continues to this very day, as so many are still left without answers, still searching to know where, and to whom they belong.Ī heartfelt memoir and a really important book documenting the story of the Tuam Babies, as they’ve become known.

Her quest for justice for the Tuam babies and those who went through that home would span over a decade as, often against fierce resistance, she brought to light a terrible truth that shocked the world, impacted the Vatican, and led to a Commission of Investigation in Ireland. But who were these children, how did they get there and who had been responsible for looking after them?ĭetermined to ask why, Catherine doggedly set about investigating further. Slowly, she began to uncover a dark secret that had been kept for many years: the bodies of 796 babies had been buried in what she believed to be a sewage tank on the grounds. It was from these humble beginnings that Catherine began researching the Tuam Mother and Baby Home in County Galway, which she had passed every day as a child on her way to school. The lecturer encouraged the class to 'see history all around you', to 'dig deeper and ask why'. When 51-year-old Catherine Corless decided to enrol in an evening course in local history, she had no idea where the decision would lead her.

Belonging by catherine corless