The boy who
His birth was shrouded in secrecy, with fake papers and a sham identity… but a tortuous 12-year search finally led him to the truth
THAT St Patrick’s Guild falsified birth records is no surprise to Tim Murphy – one of many who endured years of heartache resulting from the scandal of the export of ‘illegitimate’ babies from Ireland.
Tusla is expected to contact the 126 people whose births were falsely registered by the Dublin adoption agency over the coming weeks.
The State agency said it will approach those affected – many of whom are in their 60s and 70s – in a ‘sensitive’ manner. It is estimated that almost 100 of these may not know they are adopted.
Many adoptees have spent decades searching for information about their origins.
One of these is Tim, now 71, and married with two daughters in Beavercreek, Ohio, in the US. He spent almost 12 years from early 1987 trying to find information about his birth mother.
Despite his lengthy search, he never gave up hope.
Tim’s birth cert was fraudulently registered on October 28, 1946, after his mother Ellen was brought to the now notorious St Patrick’s
‘My mother went home alone after she had me’
Guild by his grandmother to give birth and have Tim adopted out.
Tim’s birth certificate and his baptismal certificate were registered under a false name, Anthony Kelly.
His birth mother was in a relationship with a Protestant man named Billy Butterfield, whom she loved but, because she was from a Catholic home, her mother Kate found this unacceptable.
Tim believes Ellen would have married Billy if they had been allowed to and, until her death, his birth mother kept a picture of him with her.
Tim’s birth certificate bears no mention of his father and his birth mother’s real surname was replaced.
Up until the mid-90s he falsely believed his mother’s name was ‘Ellen Kelly’.
He also believed his birth name was Anthony Kelly but that too turned out to be incorrect.
Speaking with the Irish Mail on Sunday, he said: ‘In order to maintain the secrecy, Kate [his grandmother] more or less did all the arrangements.
‘She brought Ellen from their home in Mayo to St Patrick’s Guild in Temple Hill, Blackrock. She stayed in a small apartment on Gardiner Street nearby before she had me.
‘After I was born, my mother had to travel back to Co. Mayo alone and, after that, no words were spoken of what happened. It was all very secretive.’
Following his birth, Tim was sent to several different foster homes in Dublin, and in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, until he was seven years old when he was adopted by an American couple and his name was changed from Anthony Kelly to Tim Murphy.
His first photograph was taken for his visa and passport photo, so he could travel to the US.
Tim had a happy life with his adopted family but was curious about his origins in Ireland, and began asking questions in 1987.
Years went by without answers until Tim met researcher Jim Jackman, now based in Castleknock, Dublin, who has helped many adoptees, particularly the so-called ‘Banished Babies’ sent to the USA, attempt to trace their roots.
Jim had tried to search for an ‘Ellen Kelly’ and followed many leads, without success.
Jim said: ‘A number of people were involved in his search but because of minimal and inaccurate information, they got nowhere. I had been involved in a number of searches but the case of Anthony Kelly/Tim Murphy really got to me.
‘He had been searching for so long and had not got very far. The injustice of his situation really got to me and I decided I was going to go all the way with this and leave no stone unturned.’
Both Jim and Tim tracked down Tim’s childhood foster parents, Henry and Mary Byrne.
Henry confirmed in a letter that the name on Tim’s birth certificate, Anthony Kelly, had been falsified and was used to issue him with a passport.
They also spent years trying to get