The Kerry Babies case (Irish: Leanaí Chiarraí) was a 1984 investigation by the Garda Síochána in County Kerry, Ireland, into the killing of one newborn baby and the alleged killing of another. The mother who concealed the second baby, Joanne Hayes, was arrested and charged with the murder of the first baby, of which she was erroneously thought to be the mother. The Gardaí were forced to drop the charges four years later and a tribunal of inquiry (the "Kerry Babies Tribunal") was launched. Its report was critical of the Garda conduct of the investigations, and it also concluded that Hayes had precipitated the death of her baby. Hayes has disputed this finding, and no charges were pressed. The parents and killer of the first baby have never been identified. In 2020, the Irish State formally apologised after 36 years to Joanne Hayes for wrongly accusing her of the murder and for the "appalling hurt and distress caused."