Trinity College will return 13 human skulls to Inishbofin that were stolen over 130 years ago from the island.
The human remains, which are estimated to be 500-years-old, were taken from St Colman's monastery on the island by ethnologist Alfred Cort Haddon and student Andrew Francis Dixon in July of 1890. Haddon's journal recorded the theft and since then, the remains have been stored in Trinity.
The university decided on Wednesday to return the skulls to Inishbofin following a consultation process that was initiated last year. Trinity said that further engagement will now take place with the Inishbofin community to identify the appropriate way of returning the remains.
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Trinity Provost Dr Linda Doyle said: “I am sorry for the upset that was caused by our retaining of these remains and I thank the Inishbofin community for their advocacy and engagement with us on this issue. We will now work with the community to ensure that the remains are returned in a respectful manner and in accordance with the community’s wishes.
"I want to thank everyone who engaged with the process that we have put in place to address issues of this nature. I am glad that we have made an evidence-based decision and that our process allowed all points of view to be heard.”
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