Irish authorities have commenced excavation at a site in Tuam, County Galway, believed to contain the remains of nearly 800 infants who died at a Catholic-run institution for unmarried mothers.

According to Sky News on Tuesday, the site, formerly home to the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, was operated by an order of Catholic nuns between 1925 and 1961. The facility catered to unmarried pregnant women, many of whom were victims of rape or sexual abuse and were forced to give up their babies after delivery.

Local historian, Catherine Corless, who brought the case to national attention in 2014, discovered death certificates for 798 children but found burial records for only one.

Her investigation sparked widespread outrage and prompted a government inquiry into Ireland’s system of institutional care for women and children.

Preliminary findings showed that the remains of many of the children, some as young as 35 weeks in the womb, were dumped in what used to be a septic tank on the premises, an area now surrounded by a modern apartment complex.

Corless told Sky News that the structure, referred to as “the pit,” may hold the remains of 796 infants, most of whom were never given a proper burial.

The excavation, which began this week, is part of efforts to identify the remains and accord them dignified reburials. The process is expected to last up to two years.

“I don’t care if it’s a thimbleful, as they tell m

e there wouldn’t be much remains left; at six months old, it’s mainly cartilage more than bone,” Annette McKay, whose sister is believed to be one of the 798 victims, told Sky News.

Annette McKay, whose sister is believed to be among the deceased, recalled how her mother, Margaret O’Connor, was informed about her baby’s death.

Her mother, Margaret “Maggie” O’Connor gave birth to a baby, Mary Margaret, at the home after she was r@ped at the age of 17.

The girl died six months later, and her mother only found out when a nun told her.

“She was pegging washing out and a nun came up behind her and said ‘the child of your sin is dead,’” said Annette, who now lives in the UK.

The Bon Secours facility was part of a broader system of state-sanctioned institutions across Ireland where pregnant women were confined, forced into unpaid labour, and separated from their children. Women who became pregnant again were often sent to Magdalene Laundries, infamous religious-run institutions for “fallen women.”

Originally, the term “fallen women” was applied mostly to sex workers, but the Magdalene laundries later started taking in “seduced” women, victims of rape and incest, and female orphans or children abandoned or abused by their families.

The last of the Magdalene laundries only closed their doors in the 1990s.

A 2021 state inquiry revealed that about 9,000 children died in 18 similar homes, mainly from preventable illnesses such as gastroenteritis and respiratory infections.

In 2014, the Irish government issued a formal apology to survivors. In 2022, it launched a compensation scheme, which has so far paid out over $32m to more than 800 individuals.