Adopted from sacred heart home blackrock cork 1974

Mollmunchkin

Hi I'm thinking of tracing my birth mother which I am very nervous about.I do not know where to start.only information I have is I must have been born in the sacred heart home blackrock cork. I have a letter sent to my adopted parents from St nicholas adoption society galway telling them there was a baby girl ready for them in the sacred heart home blackrock and they were asked to contact reverend mother hildegarde at this home with their intentions. I was born June 1974.anyone with any advice on what to do next or in same situation be great to hear 😊

aujopimur

Hi, there's a Bessbora Facebook page, lots of info and help there, good luck with your search.

Cork Link

Hi Moll,

I'm in a similar position, just a few years older!

This is from The Adoption Rights Alliance Website -

St. Nicholas' Adoption Society is now closed and files are with the HSE

enquiries to:

Regional Adoption Service
West City Centre
Seamus Quirke Road
Galway
Tel: 091 – 548430

I was born in Bessboro but my adoption was organised by a different agency (CPRSI) so as a first step I've simply contacted them (now Cunamh) to request non-identifying information such as first names, where birth mother was from, occupations if listed, etc.

From what other people have told me, expect to be put on a waiting list.

Mollmunchkin

Thank you cork link. Thanks for the info I am not great at this and still very nervous and unsure about the whole thing.

Cork Link

You're welcome

I've sent you a private message

The_Conductor

I'm a 1974 Bessboro baby myself.
All the Bessboro files are also with the HSE- and if you send correspondence for Sr. Sarto or any of her colleagues- you'll get a polite PFO from their solicitor (I've a little collection of them), directing you back to the HSE.

The HSE (have now offloaded all adoption enquiries to Tusla) have a dual approach with respect of Bessboro enquiries- if you're willing to accept an essay from them (which reads like a fairy story- but probably has nuggests of truth in there somewhere)- they'll get back to you within a few weeks- if you're looking for actual information- its longer (4 years and counting here).

There is also a small welcome committee onsite at the civic centre in Bessboro for us adoptees- no information available, but there is a cup of coffee and someone to listen to us for 20 minutes- i.e. not worth a trip...........

I'd suggest getting your original birth certificate (which probably will list your birth as Dublin 4- not Bessboro- as D4 is where the Adoption Authority had their offices at the time)- and using any information on it (including your mother's name) as a stepping stone towards getting further information- but also as a manner of sanity checking any information the HSE give you (often the files were deliberately falsified- so the HSE may be giving you incorrect information, but not know that they are doing so).

A link to the traceguides is here

Any questions at all- feel free to ask.

kathy finn

Hi like you i was born sacred heart bessborough, all files are with Tusla in cork.
I would suggest you write under FOI/DPA.
Tusla child and family agency, Regional Adoption Services, Pairc Na Gcrann, St Stephens Hospital, Sarsfield Court, Glanmire, Co Cork.
Also if you go to GRO werburge st Dublin you can look for your orignal Birth Cert by date of Birth, your orignal birth will be registered in Cork District not Dublin 4 as suggested. Look for babies born your date of birth with surname and maiden surname the same, Good luck and do join our Bessboro mother and baby home FB page.

Mollmunchkin

Hi Kathy thanks for your help .it's great to get a bit of information. Yes I have requested to join group yesterday but haven't been accepted yet.

kathy finn

keep an eye on your messages on FB the admins will send a vetting message, just say i sent you on

cailinrua79

hi...Im presuming Im a bessboro baby as well???...Only info I have is that i was born in cork on the 1st December 1979 and that cunamh handled my adoption. ive made contact with them and filled out the form etc and sent back...Is there any other way to get info or locate original birthcert??? my parents are great but for whatever reason have always deflected or made excuses on giving me whatever info they may have,my mum often has mentioned that they got very little with me. I was 12 weeks old when they got me and had horrendous rashes all over my body that took months to clear. I only know that because of raw faced baby photos of the time....and thats it...the latest heartbreak in Tuam has opened up an old wound of needing to know or even just to let my mother know that im allright stupid as that sounds....it has always been there niggling in the background but now I need to do what I can to find out and it seems like a minefield and huge years long waiting lists...
any info would be hugely appreciated.xx

aujopimur

If you go to Registrars office in Grattan St Cork with your details you will get your birth cert.

Cork Link

aujopimur wrote: »

If you go to Registrars office in Grattan St Cork with your details you will get your birth cert.

I'm in a similar position to both Moll & Cailin Rua

Would just a date of birth be sufficient or would birth first names be required?

Mollmunchkin

Hi cailingrua I'm new to all this.only learning by others helpfully posts. It's seems to be along ride from what I'm hearing back.but for the first time in my life it's all I can think off.I hope all goes well for you.my adoptive mum passed away in 2001 so I can't get information there but if she was here I know she would answer any questions I may have.my mum in law died last year from a short battle with cancer since then I have an awfull feeling of loss and a feeling of now I have no one and wondering is my birth mom ok is she alive does she think of me on special dates.all this comes with the feeling of does she want to know has she mentally blocked my birth existence out of her mind. Am I opening a can of worms ? It's a hard nerve wrecking time

The_Conductor

Moll- its impossible to say what your birthmum is feeling. Different people deal with things in different ways. I found it helpful to attend a reunion course even when I didn't know whether I would ever find my birthmum- to try and get a little perspective on how other people might be feeling- both fellow adopted people- but also birthmums and adoptive parents- to try to have a more encompassing idea of how it affects people.

First step-
Contact the Adoption Authority to find out which agency handled your adoption. If its still in existence- approach them for non-identifying information- if not- request the same from the Adoption Authority. Also complete the contact preference register at this point- if you haven't already done so.

Step two-
Follow the traceguide route to get your original birthcert.

Step three-
Use the limited information you've got thus far- to see whether its possible to get uptodate contact information for your birthmum- there are numerous groups who can offer you tips and advice and guidance in your search. At the same time- request the agency and/or the Adoption Authority and/or Tusla conduct a search on your behalf.

All I can really say is- don't make assumptions. You never can tell what your birthmum went through- educating yourself by reading books such as June Goulding's 'The Light in the Window' (an account of her time as a midwife in Bessborough) is a good starting point- but there are also books by people such as Betty Jean Lifton (an American- but she does write books many of us can relate to- such as 'Journey of the Adopted Self') which can help you understand yourself better- and can help sort some confusion in your mind.

Finally- there are lots of us here who have gone through what you're going through- we've all got different stories- some happy, some sad, some stretching decades- some over in days- with all manner of different outcomes. I don't think there really is a common theme- other than its incredibly rare for anyone who builds up a story in their head- to discover it is true- in whole or partially. You really never can tell.

If any of us can help at all in any way- please ask.

The_Conductor

Cork Link wrote: »

I'm in a similar position to both Moll & Cailin Rua

Would just a date of birth be sufficient or would birth first names be required?

It really depends on a number of factors.
When you're looking for your original birth cert- the tell-tale sign in the records is the child's surname and the mother's surname are the same. This can happen in normal circumstances though. The other thing is- at the height of adoption- there were as many as 11-12 children being adopted on a daily basis- of whom you could might expect 5-6 to be the same gender as you. So- you could potentially have a few birth certs- one of which is yours- however, while you've narrowed it down to a manageable few- the next step is how to figure which of the small batch you have is yours.

Non-identifying information from the agency who handled your adoption- or indeed the adoption authority itself- will usually include the name your mother gave you. This may be sufficient to point out your own cert- or you may be unlucky and have a few certs with the same first name (nuns often pressured certain names on children- such as 'Mary' in a Marian year- which can be frustrating as hell- but hopefully this isn't the case).

Once you have your own cert- its a stepping stone on your roadmap towards unlocking more information............

Hermy

The_Conductor wrote: »

First step-
Contact the Adoption Authority to find out which agency handled your adoption. If its still in existence- approach them for non-identifying information- if not- request the same from the Adoption Authority. Also complete the contact preference register at this point- if you haven't already done so.

Hope ye don't mind me butting in with a suggestion.

Where the agency still exists I would request non-identifying information from both the agency and the Adoption Authority. It was my experience that the Adoption Authority gave me at least one extra piece of information that the agency (in my case TUSLA acting on behalf of St. Patrick's Guild) did not provide.

Cork Link

aujopimur wrote: »

If you go to Registrars office in Grattan St Cork with your details you will get your birth cert.

Hi Conductor,

Many thanks for your reply and the detailed information.

Is aujopimur correct to say that you can visit the above address and obtain a birth cert?

The_Conductor

Cork Link wrote: »

Hi Conductor,

Many thanks for your reply and the detailed information.

Is aujopimur correct to say that you can visit the above address and obtain a birth cert?

Its not quite as straight forward as walking in, asking at the desk and being handed your original birth cert.

This document needs updating (its a little out of date) but it gives you a step-by-step guide to the steps you'll need to follow to get your birth cert.

Note- there are at least 3 books for each year- and in some cases 4- and the births are mostly, but not all, listed in date order- i.e. you *have* to go through all the books- and made a note of all the matches. It is not appropriate to skip to a particular date and imagine that is all the births on that date- more often than not, it isn't. It will take several hours- possibly a second day, to go through all the books.

Cork Link

The_Conductor wrote: »

Note- there are at least 3 books for each year- and in some cases 4- and the births are mostly, but not all, listed in date order- i.e. you *have* to go through all the books- and made a note of all the matches. It is not appropriate to skip to a particular date and imagine that is all the births on that date- more often than not, it isn't. It will take several hours- possibly a second day, to go through all the books.

Thanks again Conductor

Only thing is, I'm pre 1966 so there will be 4 books (1 per quarter) for my year.

I always thought that the books were only available for viewing in the GRO, Werburgh Street, Dublin so I'm still surprised at the mention of Grattan Street, Cork by a previous poster.

For the benefits of others reading this thread, can you clarify?

The_Conductor

Cork Link wrote: »

Thanks again Conductor

Only thing is, I'm pre 1966 so there will be 4 books (1 per quarter) for my year.

I always thought that the books were only available for viewing in the GRO, Werburgh Street, Dublin so I'm still surprised at the mention of Grattan Street, Cork by a previous poster.

For the benefits of others reading this thread, can you clarify?

HQ for the GRO is actually now Roscommon- not the reading room in Werburgh street- and similarly, not Grattan Street Cork. The GRO took all the books in turn, and made copies- which are available in the 3 offices (there are two further copies in addition to the LDS copy in Glasnevin in Dublin and Wilton in Cork (they updated the records over the last decade- previously they were only up to 1959- now there is microfiche all the way up to 2002).

Aka- there are multiple copies of the books in various locations around the country (Roscommon, Dublin and Cork) in addition to microfiched copies in the LDS research centres in Glasnevin, Wilton (think they have a Limerick office too).

Cork Link

The_Conductor wrote: »

HQ for the GRO is actually now Roscommon- not the reading room in Werburgh street- and similarly, not Grattan Street Cork. The GRO took all the books in turn, and made copies- which are available in the 3 offices (there are two further copies in addition to the LDS copy in Glasnevin in Dublin and Wilton in Cork (they updated the records over the last decade- previously they were only up to 1959- now there is microfiche all the way up to 2002).

Aka- there are multiple copies of the books in various locations around the country (Roscommon, Dublin and Cork) in addition to microfiched copies in the LDS research centres in Glasnevin, Wilton (think they have a Limerick office too).

Thanks Conductor, I was unaware of most of that.

aujopimur

The_Conductor wrote: »

Its not quite as straight forward as walking in, asking at the desk and being handed your original birth cert.

This document needs updating (its a little out of date) but it gives you a step-by-step guide to the steps you'll need to follow to get your birth cert.

Note- there are at least 3 books for each year- and in some cases 4- and the births are mostly, but not all, listed in date order- i.e. you *have* to go through all the books- and made a note of all the matches. It is not appropriate to skip to a particular date and imagine that is all the births on that date- more often than not, it isn't. It will take several hours- possibly a second day, to go through all the books.

I walked in, gave the details I had, Name, DOB, Mothers name and place of birth, it was issued in 10 mins.

Cork Link

aujopimur wrote: »

I walked in, gave the details I had, Name, DOB, Mothers name and place of birth, it was issued in 10 mins.

Ah, now I understand

You already had identifying information (your mother's birth name)

The_Conductor

aujopimur wrote: »

I walked in, gave the details I had, Name, DOB, Mothers name and place of birth, it was issued in 10 mins.

Very few people have this information from the get-go- even after being given 'non-identifying information' by their agency, the adoption authority, Tusla or others........... (unless something has changed in a spectacular manner recently!)

Vodka&coke

cailinrua79 wrote: »

hi...Im presuming Im a bessboro baby as well???...Only info I have is that i was born in cork on the 1st December 1979 and that cunamh handled my adoption. ive made contact with them and filled out the form etc and sent back...Is there any other way to get info or locate original birthcert??? my parents are great but for whatever reason have always deflected or made excuses on giving me whatever info they may have,my mum often has mentioned that they got very little with me. I was 12 weeks old when they got me and had horrendous rashes all over my body that took months to clear. I only know that because of raw faced baby photos of the time....and thats it...the latest heartbreak in Tuam has opened up an old wound of needing to know or even just to let my mother know that im allright stupid as that sounds....it has always been there niggling in the background but now I need to do what I can to find out and it seems like a minefield and huge years long waiting lists...
any info would be hugely appreciated.xx

I was born 1st December 1978 also in Bessboro

The_Conductor

Vodka&coke wrote: »

I was born 1st December 1978 also in Bessboro

We should all meet up for a errr..... Vodka and Coke
Wonder how many Bessboro babies there are?
I suppose the stats must be somewhere.

jennywren

Hey guys ! I am guessing I may be a Bessboro baby as I have parish of Mahon, Cork on my Baptisimal Cert. Does anyone else have one of these certs to compare ? (April 1979)

I haven't started the process yet and not really sure I want to. I do however have a feeling of obligation and a need to say thank you to my birth mother. I have had the most amazing life and family and really have not suffered one second for having been adopted. My adopted parents are the most wonderful people. I would hate to think that she has suffered or feels any guilt for not having kept me.

kathy finn

Hi Jennywren.
I was baptised in Bessboro Mother and baby home Cork my Baptismal Cert say St Michaels parish, Blackrock.

The_Conductor

kathy finn wrote: »

Hi Jennywren.
I was baptised in Bessboro Mother and baby home Cork my Baptismal Cert say St Michaels parish, Blackrock.

Ditto here.

jennywren

Thanks for all of your replies - mine says Holy Cross, Mahon. Going to see if I can get some more information next week.

Gomez2017

Hi I have been reading threads on tracing an adoption and from reading forums I was able to gain vital information regarding tracing birth cert to adoption cert of my relative. I have since registered all information I have with Adoption Authority in Ballsbridge in Dublin .
They have informed me that information will be registered and if there Is a match they will inform me. And gave me adoption agency name to research further..
Now I understand only contact will be made if other person is in fact looking and registered.. But I'm wondering will I get any further with adoption agency in my search?
I have original birth cert and from that I found 3 names for same DOB in adoption registry.. From that I deducted adoption more than likely correlates with same area as hospital of birth.. And place where agency is located.. So I have name of adopted child.. What other information can agency give me if adopted child in question has not registered interest in locating birth family? Or will agency get in contact with adopted child and enquire if they want contact whether to meet or just to find out medical back ground?
Sorry just trying to prepare myself and wondering am I going to hit brick wall after all my own research or if agency open to helping finding lost relative..
I have found my relative on FB but I wouldn't feel comfortable getting in touch that way as adoption is a very sensitive area.. And I think out of respect for their own adoptive family and my family should be done through proper channels especially if relative does not want contact I prefer to go proper way through social worker..
I guess what I'm asking is will this be lengthy process? As I have read can take few years for a meeting with social worker..
Sorry If I'm asking questions already answered in other forums