The full forensic excavation of the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam is underway
The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention has confirmed that ground was broken at 10.38 this morning
The forensic excavation is expected to take approximately 2 years to complete.
Access to the entire site is now closed off to the public and it is also concealed from view, with 24-hour security in place and 2.4-meter hoarding erected around the perimeter.
It's the country's first ever mass exhumation, after local historian Catherine Corless discovered there are no burial records for 796 children and babies who died at the home.
Previous examinations uncovered human remains, which were believed to date back to between 1925 and 1961, when the home was run by the Bon Secours Sisters.
A team of Irish and international experts has been brought in to assist in the project including Senior Forensic Consultant Dr Niamh McCullagh
She says the team is aware of the impact its work will have on the local community
Monthly updates will be given from August, and the team will expand in October as the works get more complex.
Breeda Murphy from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home Alliance says they've been waiting a long time for the full excavation work to begin
