Sunday/Taum

A NYT article about the Taum children was published last year. It is an account, through the memories of one of the children, of what happened there in the early 1900s. It will come up again because it is a terrible story and the Church, which was involved, has had new horrible stories about children.

Taub is a large community in Galway and was the site of what was originally a workhouse which became a home for unwed mothers and a storehouse for their children. A lot of kids came through there. A 796 graves of children are there as well. 

"The Tuam home was not alone. Children born out of wedlock during this period were nearly four times more likely to die than “legitimate” children, with those in institutions at particular risk. The reasons may be many — poor prenatal care, insufficient government funding, little or no training of staff – but this is certain: It was no secret.

In 1934, the Irish parliament was informed of the inordinate number of deaths among this group of children. “One must come to the conclusion that they are not looked after with the same care and attention as that given to ordinary children,” a public health official said.

Thirty died in the Tuam home that year.

In 1938, it was 26. In 1940, 34. In 1944, 40." (nyt)

That is to say these children were not actively killed, they were just not cared for as much. And the nuns who ran the place were responsible. But they were not alone.

These children had mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts. The government knew. So did the Church. Thousands and thousands of adults knew.

"Taum" comes from a Latin word meaning "Burial mound."