Little Angels plot: 50,000 burials

Around 50,000 infants have been buried at the Little Angels plot in Glasnevin cemetery from the early 1960s to the present day…

Around 50,000 infants have been buried at the Little Angels plot in Glasnevin cemetery from the early 1960s to the present day.

The infants buried there were mostly premature and stillborn, but there are also a smaller number of newborns who died soon after birth.

The infants came from Holles Street hospital, the Coombe Women's hospital, Rotunda maternity hospital and St James's hospital.

There are generally 20 to 25 infants in each grave.

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According to the Dublin Cemeteries Committee, "several infants are buried here every day".

In the past, only full-term babies were admitted to the plot but nowadays children born very prematurely can be buried there. However, many infants are now cremated instead on the hospital's suggestion, the cemeteries committee points out.

The committee was founded by Daniel O'Connell in 1832 - it owns and operates Glasnevin cemetery.