Commemorative walk to take place from Tuam to Bessborough this weekend

A commemorative walk is set to take place from Tuam to Bessborough this weekend.

From Tuam to Bessborough with Love, a three-day commemorative walk, will take place from Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23. It will connect the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home with the former Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork.

The Tuam and Bessborough homes were two prominent residential institutions run by Catholic religious orders where unmarried mothers and their children were sent.

Both facilities became central to a national and international scandal over high infant mortality rates, systemic neglect, forced adoption, and unmarked burials.

The walk is being led by Anne Fahey Ronayne in partnership with the A Little Light of Love team to remember all 923 children and babies still missing, by walking just under 220km from the Tuam site to the Bessborough site.

On January 1, 2023, Fahey Ronayne climbed Knockma in Galway 796 times between January 2023 and July 2025 for each of the Tuam babies.

She said the upcoming walk is "a promise that these children will not be forgotten.

"Every step we take is for the babies whose lives were so tragically cut short.

"We want every child to be acknowledged, remembered and honoured. This journey is about connecting two places through remembrance, compassion and love, while giving each child the dignity of hearing their name spoken again."

"It's time again to remember these mothers, children and little babies, this time 923 in all," said founder of A Little Light of Love Valerie Jennings.

"This walk has nothing to do with politics or religion, just in remembrance of the beautiful babies, the precious mothers and the brave survivors."

After walking approximately 73km per day, the group will arrive at Bessborough Mother and Baby Home on Sunday.

Bessborough Mother and Baby Home has been trapped in controversy over plans for a large apartment complex near the disused facility.

In May, the High Court quashed An Coimisiún Pleanála's decision to overturn an earlier planning refusal by Cork City Council.

The court ruled that the planning board failed to properly evaluate the potential presence of unrecorded infant burial grounds and the findings of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation.

A sister rally is being held outside Galway Cathedral on Sunday for those who are unable to make it to Cork, and to protest the development of the land.

 

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A similar vigil will be held at the gates of Bessborough on the same day, to welcome A Little Light of Love walkers, organised by the Bessboro Mother & Baby 'home' Support Group.

 

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A post shared by Carmel Cantwell - Bessboro Mother & Baby ‘home’ Support Group (@carmel.cantwell)

Members of the public are invited to support the walkers along the route or to join them for sections of the journey.

Communities are also encouraged to welcome the walkers as they pass through towns and villages.