Amateur historian Catherine Corless spreads birth and death records across her kitchen table in Tuam, Ireland. Through a search of public records, Corless found 796 infants and children died in a nearby mother and baby home between 1925 and 1961. Paulo Nunes Dos Santos/NPR hide caption
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Paulo Nunes Dos Santos/NPR
In Ireland, the Catholic Church once ran homes for unwed mothers. Until recently the church dominated life there and pregnancy outside marriage was considered shameful. Behind one of these homes a ghastly discovery has recently been made and is now being unearthed. It was a secret most people in the town knew about, but no one took any action until recently.
