‘Definite physical indications’ found at Bessborough of possible shallow graves

A leading archaeologist said there are "definite physical indications" there could be unmarked shallow graves in the grounds of the Bessborough mother and baby home.

Toni Maguire completed a basic examination of the Cork City site yesterday with four women born at the Cork home — two of whom had travelled from the US. A study of General Registration Office and Department of Health records by the Adoption Rights Alliance suggests up to 1,000 mothers and their babies may have died there over several decades.

Toni Maguire said she would “really like to complete full geophysical examinations” on the short avenue that runs from the Bessborough grotto to the formal Little Angels plot.