what do i do.

mariankav

hi i am writing this on behalf of my adopted sister.what i need to know is how to start,like where do i look.she wants to trace her birth mother and i would dearly love to help her.

Ostrom

Hi Marian,

First off, good luck on your journey!

Can you tell us what you know already - how old is your sister? Have you approached the agency through which she was placed (or the HSE)? Have you requested non-identifying information? Are you on the national contact preference register? You have a number of options open to you, which are probably best outlined once we know where you stand regarding information and formal agency contact.

I searched myself four years ago using a combination of birth records, non-identifying information supplied by a HSE social worker (and some information supplied to my parents at the time of my placement), internet, a kindly american and a helpful bookshop assistant

Your broadest options are independent searching, or contacting the agency (now likely incorporated into the HSE) to initiate a search on your behalf - there are many others open from these two, so let us know where you stand.

mariankav

thans for reply.my sister is now 44 and has only now decided to do this search.so far we have done very little as we dont know where to start.i am helping her as she lives in london and i live in dublin .the adoption was done in dublin.if you could just point us in the right direction i would be delighted.like for instance who do i approach first.she said she is going to get a tracer on to it,but i think we should be able to do the tracing ourselves..can you tell me how information we will be allowed to get.my brother who is also adopted tried for years to trace his birth mother and found that he hit a brick wall.he was lucky in the end he found her and they have a good relationship.only problem is he doesnt keep in touch with us now.so i cant ask him for info on how he went about things.any help would be really appreciated.marian

Ostrom

mariankav wrote: »

thans for reply.my sister is now 44 and has only now decided to do this search.so far we have done very little as we dont know where to start.i am helping her as she lives in london and i live in dublin .the adoption was done in dublin.if you could just point us in the right direction i would be delighted.like for instance who do i approach first.she said she is going to get a tracer on to it,but i think we should be able to do the tracing ourselves..can you tell me how information we will be allowed to get.my brother who is also adopted tried for years to trace his birth mother and found that he hit a brick wall.he was lucky in the end he found her and they have a good relationship.only problem is he doesnt keep in touch with us now.so i cant ask him for info on how he went about things.any help would be really appreciated.marian

Do you know what agency she was adopted from (i.e. St. Patrick's Guild, St. Brigid's)? There were a number active in the Dublin area in the sixties that are now incorporated under the HSE (who also hold many records of the old agencies). This would be your likely first point of contact. This link will show you the current state of things - some are under administration by the HSE, some have transferred records to various former health boards.

The adoption board will be able to tell you which agency your sister was adopted through on request and direct you to the appropriate health board/agency. If the adoption was dealt with beyond any specific agency remit, they should also be able to assist you. From there you may request access to non-identifying information - I dont know how long this will take now as it has been a few years since I have done this - perhps others may have an idea?

The designations can be a little confusing - the former 'health boards' are still referred to as such for convenience, even though your point of contact with them may be via. the HSE, and their regional departments may hold various records of former church-run adoption agencies.

Anyway, short answer, follow the links above, get in touch with them and let them know what you wish to do! Once you have further information from them, other options will become available.


As regards tracing yourself, access to records of births in the Republic of Ireland is open to the public, what you dont have access to is the adopted persons index, used to cross-reference original birth certificates with those issued subsequent to the passing of the adoption order (your sisters name). You can search through the index to the register of births (come back, this will take a little explaining, and can take some time) for certificates likely to be your sisters, and correlate the details of the entry (hopefully) with your non-identifying information.

Anyway, this is a bit further on - get in touch with the HSE or relevant department if you know which agency was involved first of all.

Please read this also: http://www.adoption.ie/tracing.pdf

And have a look at the tracing link here (particularly the pros and cons list!): http://www.adoption.ie/

kathy finn

hi marian, first of all good luck with ur search, read the tracing guides on here they should be helpful, their is a long waiting list on all the agencys at the moment so after ur contact with them try to search yourself.
im afraid ur sister will have to do all the contact as the agency will only deal with the person in question. take it one step at a time and keep all ur options open.....kathy

mariankav

thank you both,the adoption was done through st louise adoption society,from st patricks home navan road.so that will her first port of call.i have sent her the address and telephone number.once agin thank you very much for your help.marian kavanagh.

kathy finn

the navan road home has since closed all records ar being held by.
health sevice executive,
northern area,
child care services,
park house,
north circular road,
dublin 7 phone 01 8387122