Tale of 2 Tuams

The tale of two Tuams is the story of the two pioneer cemeteries that remain of the ghost town of Tuam.

The first and most visible cemetery is that of St. Margaret's Catholic Church, which operated here from 1838, until 1952. The church grounds are well maintained by the township, the gravemarkers are in fair condition and historic plaques tell the history of this place. One of my photos shows the plaque with the history.

Directly to the west of this can be found an empty field, which also holds a cemetery, but no gravemarkers remain. A simple memorial stone was built with the following words to convey the sadness of this place:
ON THIS PLOT OF GROUND LIE
THE EARTHLY REMAINS OF THOSE WHO FLED POVERTY
AND DISEASE IN THEIR HOMELAND.

THEIR NAMES LIKE THE GRAVE MARKERS THAT ONCE
STOOD HERE LONG FORGOTTEN AND LOST.

WE THAT CAME AFTER PLACED THIS MARKER HERE
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2005.

It makes me wonder how two cemeteries from the same community, the same time period, and the same location could take such different paths into history. Was this simply religion based? Were the lost from a different country than the Scots? And what happened to the lost marker, why where they removed?