Irish artists call for national day of mourning in memory of children who died in mother and baby homes

Damien Dempsey is among a group of artists calling for a national day of mourning. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

A group of Irish artists, including singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey, is calling for a national day of mourning to be established in memory of all of the children who died in religious and State-run institutions.

The call comes as the country's first ever mass exhumation is continuing in Tuam, where forensic experts are searching for the remains of 796 children who died in the former mother and baby home and were buried in a large, underground septic tank.