Drone restrictions over Tuam site ahead of full-scale excavation

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

A restriction against flying drones over the site of a former mother and baby home has been put in place in Tuam, Co Galway ahead of its excavation.

The full-scale forensic dig of the site of St Mary’s mother and baby home, where it is believed up to 800 babies and young children were buried between 1925 and 1961, is scheduled to begin next week.

The limit on the use of drones, issued by the Irish Aviation Authority, arises out of the sensitive nature of the work and the requirement for privacy.

The excavation area, surrounded by a 2.4 metre-high hoarding, is subject to security monitoring on a 24-hour basis to ensure the forensic integrity of the site.

The excavation is scheduled to begin on Monday and is anticipated to last two years.

The work at the burial site, which is being undertaken by the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (Odait), will involve the exhumation and analysis of all remains uncovered.

The team will work to individualise and identify the remains where possible before their re-interment.

Odait leader Daniel MacSweeney said there had not been any issues with security of the site since the team’s took control of the area for pre-excavation work in the middle of June.

He said: “We need to deal with it as a forensic science, we need to deal with it like a police investigation scene.

“That’s the standard we’re held to because that’s what’s in the legislation, and therefore it’s not possible for the public or whatever to actually enter.

“So, once it’s under forensic control, which it is now, then we cannot have people entering the site.

“Therefore we have security, and we have the hoarding around the site.”