Consider This from NPR How hundreds of babies and children ended up in a mass grave in Ireland
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Aug 19, 2025 
In this gripping discussion, Lauren Frayer, NPR’s correspondent in Tuam, Ireland, sheds light on a dark chapter of Irish history involving mother and baby homes. The narrative follows Anna Corrigan, who uncovers a family secret about lost brothers and reveals the tragic fate of nearly 800 children buried in a mass grave. Frayer explores the emotional scars left by these institutions, the societal stigma faced by unwed mothers, and ongoing efforts to investigate the remains, prompting a vital reckoning with a painful past.
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Discovery Of Hidden Siblings
- Anna Corrigan discovered in her 50s that she had two older brothers born before her mother married.
- Her mother never told her and Corrigan felt deprived of knowing her siblings.
Cultural Context Of Shame
- Ireland's mid-20th-century culture punished unmarried pregnant women with shame and isolation.
- Birth control and abortion were illegal and children born outside marriage were stigmatized.
PJ Haverty’s Separation And Reunion
- PJ Haverty was born in the Tuam mother and baby home and lived there for 12 months.
- His mother later paid the nuns monthly but was denied custody and he went into foster care until reuniting decades later.