Calls have been made to excavate the site of a former Magdalene laundry and orphanage in Tralee to find out if there are unmarked graves.
The call’s been made by Miriam Moriarty Owens and other former residents of the Nazareth House orphanage in Balloonagh.
There was also a Magdalene laundry that operated until the early 20th century.
Near Baile Mhuire, there’s a headstone on the grounds in memory of five women who worked at the laundry; the five died between 1894 and 1910.
Former Kerry County Councillor Toiréasa Ferris says this grave should be exhumed.
Miriam Moriarty Owens spent much of her childhood in the Nazareth House orphanage which was run by the Sisters of Mercy.
The Mercy Order no longer owns the land in Balloonagh; it is now vested in St Brendan’s Trust, a trust which is used in connection with the Catholic Church in Kerry.
St Brendan’s Trust says it’s aware of three grave plots/burial sistes in Balloonagh.
It says the trust continues to caretake the grave plots at Balloonagh, with due sensitivity to those buried within them and their families. St Brendan's Trust says there's never been any mention or documentation suggesting there are any other graves on the site.
Much of the site has been developed as playing pitches for Austin Stacks GAA club and houses have been built on another section.
St Brendan’s Trusts says people from the orphanage who died were buried in Rath cemetery.
