The remains of some 240 unbaptised children, exhumed by archaeologists from an unconsecrated burial ground in Co Mayo which lay on the route of a new roadway, were re-interred in ceremonies yesterday.
Many mourners wept silently as the remains of the infants, which had been placed in three large caskets, were lowered into a grave at Ballinahaglish Cemetery, Knockmore, Ballina, after being carried shoulder-high by men from the parish.
The remains were excavated by archaeologists from Mayo County Council last year from a cillín - a children's graveyard - which lay on a curve of the River Moy between Ballina and Foxford. The overgrown cemetery, which was used as a burial area for stillborn babies from the 17th to the 20th centuries, were removed to make way for the new N26 roadway, which will eventually link Ballina with the N5 at Bohola, a €95 million project.
The Bishop of Killala, Dr John Fleming, who presided over a Ceremony of Light in the Church of Christ the King, Knockmore, told the large congregation that some of the infants died before birth or soon after. Others died later, from famine or fever.
Many were carried to their burial place in darkness and secrecy by distraught fathers. Many of the children were held by their mothers for only a short time, the bishop added. They were not given names, but God had carved names on the palm of his hand at the time of their conception and he never erased them.
He continued: "Today we acknowledge God's gift of life to those who failed to reach maturity, to those who are stillborn and all those who died soon after birth."
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry, the Right Rev Richard Henderson, also participated in yesterday's ceremonies.