It took 133 years for 13 skulls to return to their original burial site on the island of Inishbofin in Ireland. These had been taken illegally from the monastery of St Colman in Inishbofin in July 1890 by ethnologist Alfred Cort Haddon and student Andrew Francis Dixon, without their asking permission. The skulls were then taken to Trinity College Dublin (TCD), to be studied and stored…
It may seem like nothing, but victory is important. After years of intense fighting, the island of Inishbofin has won its case, and managed to repatriate 13 skulls that had been stolen from it.
The affair caused quite a stir in Ireland, raising the question of the legitimacy of scientific institutions using unauthorized anthropological sites.
And the verdict is in: last February, Dublin University apologized and agreed to the return of the skulls concerned.
Marie Coyne of the Inishbofin Heritage Museum and Gift Shop is responsible for this turnaround. She has campaigned for over 10 years for the remains to be returned to the island. The young Irish woman has never stopped campaigning for this cause, which she considers so important.
For the young woman, the return of these skulls to their island is a major step forward, serving as a reminder that certain researchers have in the past abused their position, disregarding all ethical and moral reflection.
This case echoes that of Charles Byrne, nicknamed the Irish Giant. Suffering from a rare disease, this Irishman was considered the greatest man of the 18th century. Although he begged during his lifetime not to be the subject of scientific study, his body was recovered and exhibited without his authorization at the Hunterian Museum for almost 200 years… The museum has since apologized and suspended the exhibition.
As for the skulls, they were brought back in a traditional Inishbofin coffin. The remains were taken from Athenry to Cleggan last Saturday, where they were ferried to Inishbofin before their burial on Sunday – 133 years to the day after their theft.
After resting overnight at St Colman’s Church, the remains were laid to rest after a mass led by Clifden’s parish priest, Father James Ronayne.
“May they rest in peace forever”, reads a gravestone marking the grave.
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