796 missing children and babies to be remembered at Mayo lakeside vigil

A special event in memory of all children and babies who lost their lives at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home is to be staged at a memorial ceremony around Lough Lannagh, Castlebar, as ‘A Little Light of Love’ takes place for the third consecutive year on Saturday, November 12, at 7 p.m.

One year ago a lantern was carried for 65 kilometres from Islandeady, stopping at Lough Lannagh to remember the 208 of the 796 babies who were from Mayo.

The lantern was then carried to Tuam by people who walked and cycled until its arrival at the site of the mother and baby institution where it has resided since then.

On the marathon route to Tuam, families and individuals turned out in large numbers, holding candles and lanterns in gestures of support for the remembrance initiative.

Now, on November 12 next, the names of all 796 babies who died in the institution will be read out by 796 people carrying candles at the Castlebar lakeside setting.

It is hoped that members of the public attending the ceremony will shine a light, be it from their mobile phone or the holding of a candle, so that the sky around Lough Lannagh will be lit up to remember the beautiful little souls.

Music for the occasion will be provided by Mayo Concert Orchestra and the Chapel Street Gospel Choir, jointly in concert at the lake car park.

Valerie Jennings, one of the organisers, explained: “It is a massive task to gather all these people but every baby deserves to be remembered individually.

“We are appealing for more volunteers to come forward to remember us remember each one of the special little angel."

The names of each beautiful baby who died at the Tuam institution will be read out as Catherine and Aidan Corless will pass by with the lantern.

The lantern will then be laid to rest in the children’s plot at the Old Cemetery, Castlebar, and on Sunday travel back to the Tuam site.

Catherine Corless, a local historian in Tuam, was the first to uncover the shocking fact that 796 babies died at the Tuam site and that some of them were interred in a septic tank.

“Some of the mothers are still alive. They have no idea where their babies are. We need to remember them all – innocent babies and their mothers,” she said.

One of the organising team members, Seosamh O’Maolchroin, is a survivor of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

Seosamh was the first in a long relay of walkers who carried a lantern from Jack’s Cottage at Islandeady, last year some 65 kms to Tuam, where it was later reverently placed at the babies’ remembrance site by a young girl.

Mr. O’Maolchroin, who spent some time as an infant with his mother in the Tuam home, told reporters he felt “very emotional” about the 796 infants who died there.

“I count myself very lucky. I am not a victim. I am a survivor”.

Those interested in being involved can contact:

Tel: (087) 3581815

Facebook: Little light of Love

Email: alittlelightoflovemayo@gmail.com