Drogheda woman sent to local orphanage searching for family
A woman who was born in Drogheda before being sent to an orphanage is looking for help to locate the family she has not seen in over 35 years.
Mary Gannon was born in Drogheda in June 1954 to parents Teresa and Michael Gannon.
Her story has been shared, with her permission, on Facebook in an attempt to locate some of her long lost but much loved family.
Mary had nine siblings; Kathleen, Philomena, Josephine, Caroline, MIchael, Joseph, Martin and Patrick.
Some time later the family moved to Dunleer and attended the local school there.
When she was 13, Mary moved to St Joseph’s orphanage in Dundalk while her brothers went to an orphanage in Dublin.
Mary said she was kept there until she was 21 at which point she moved to Northern Ireland to a place just outside Belfast to take up a job. When she was 26, Mary moved to London. She said she saw her sister Kathleen and brother Michael while living in London and revealed Philomena moved back to Donegal.
‘Shortly after I had my bag stolen with address book and lost contact with them all since that day,’ she said.
‘As a child I took on the mother role to my siblings due to absent parents and it breaks my heart I have not seen them in so long. I have been diagnosed with lupis and would very much like to see them again,’ Mary added.