Hundreds to be kept in dark about evidence their adoptions were illegal
AT LEAST 267 people will not be informed of suspicious markers on their adoption files that could suggest they were illegally adopted, according to the Department of Children.
While 151 adoptions from the St Patrick’s Guild adoption agency have been acknowledged as illegal birth registrations, moves will not be made to inform the 267 whose files were found to contain 381 markers or words that could suggest illegal adoption in a report commissioned by the Minister for Children.
A spokesman for the minister said: ‘In relation to 151 individuals, sufficient evidence was found on the files of Saint Patrick’s Guild to allow a confirmation of an illegal birth registration to be made, and
‘Speed is crucial in these matters’
for those individuals to be contacted.
‘While suspicions may exist in relation to other cases, these 151 are the only cases to date, of which the State is aware, in which the threshold of proof to allow a confirmation of an illegal birth registration has been reached.’
The Irish Mail on Sunday has previously highlighted that this report of illegal adoptions has been complete and sitting in the Department of Children since May 2019. However, it was only published on Tuesday.
A six-month review by the special rapporteur on child protection, Conor O’Mahony, will now take place to advise the Government on the next steps to be taken. However, questions have been raised by those who discovered they were illegally adopted about where this will leave the 267 people who may also be unknowingly affected.
Further digging might uncover up to 20,000 files with suspicious indicators, according to the report.
Jon O’Sullivan, 60, discovered at the age of 58 that he was illegally adopted after it was announced in 2018 that St Patrick’s Guild adoption agency illegally registered the births of 126 children between 1946 and 1969. This number has since risen to 151.
Children were placed with couples and those couples were registered as birth parents. It emerged at the time that over half of those affected may have been entirely unaware of their birth circumstances.
Jon managed to trace his birth mother in 2018 after being informed of the details of his adoption. He was able to travel to meet her for the first time in early 2020 in Canada but she died on Ash Wednesday, 2021.
Jon said: ‘Speed is crucial. For there to be any delay is ludicrous. I was just very lucky to get a few weeks with my birth mother. ’
Adoption Rights Alliance spokeswoman Susan Lohan said the alliance has ‘complete confidence’ in the special rapporteur. However, it believes the review could be completed quickly with more resources.
‘We recommend that a dedicated unit of gardaí, family researchers, DNA experts, genealogists, records archivists be established to double check the numbers of people with connections to St Patrick’s Guild that Tusla has failed to inform of their family status,’ she told the MoS.
‘Roderic O’Gorman and the department could also easily commence a public information campaign asking for all who believe they have been illegally adopted to contact his department; ditto, they could appeal to those holding important admissions registers from private nursing homes etc, to surrender them. These registers may well be the only source of people’s true identities.’