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Long Lost Family

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  • 01-06-2020 10:08pm
    #1
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Did anyone watch tonight?

    Amazing story of 2 people who were both foundlings. One left near a police station outside Belfast, the other left in a phone box in Dundalk 6 years later. Both in tartan bags.

    They turn out to be full siblings. Found through DNA testing.

    Parents both lived in Dublin - he was married with 14 kids, she was his secret girlfriend - together for decades.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #2
    Hermy
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    Sorry I missed it.

    I gave up watching the regular series as it had all become a bit too formulaic - a bit rinse, wash, repeat.

    But I did see the trailer for this one and thought it had the potential to be good.

    Glad to see it delivered.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #3
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,640 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    I watched it, and watched it again on +1


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    #4
    LennieB
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭LennieB


    Yes, it was an amazing story. So glad they got answers but such a pity they never got to meet their birthmother.


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    #5
    cocopops
    Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭cocopops


    Such a sad story tonight.

    God love the two of them.

    I wonder did the mother hope the red tartan bag would help connect the two foundlings so they would find each other a lot sooner than they did. It’s strange that coincidence was overlooked for so long!


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    #6
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,640 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    Their birth mother died in 2017 - I wonder what year Helen was on the Joe Duffy's Liveline. Just thinking, her mother may have been alive at the time of Joe's program - then again maybe she was not aware of it, she was aged 90 in 2017.


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    #7
    LennieB
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭LennieB


    Lime Tree Farm wrote: »
    Their birth mother died in 2017 - I wonder what year Helen was on the Joe Duffy's Liveline. Just thinking, her mother may have been alive at the time of Joe's program - then again maybe she was not aware of it, she was aged 90 in 2017.

    She was on Liveline on her 44th birthday which would have been 2012 ( hope I have that right, think she was born 1968)


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    #8
    Hermy
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    cocopops wrote: »
    God love the two of them.

    Sadly, it's thanks to "God's love" and the way it was enforced in Ireland that many mothers weren't able to hold onto their children. Mine had two taken from her and had to fight the local priest to hold onto a third.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #9
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,131 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    Terribly sad programme and I agree, if I had been an RUC officer dealing with the 1962 case, the one in Dundalk in 1968 should have rung bells. Unless perhaps there were very many abandoned children then and I'm looking at it from today's perspective where such things are thankfully relatively rare?

    Clearly the couple were still in touch quite a while after the children were abandoned. So sad they had to keep their relationship and children secret.


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    #10
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    It was an amazing story.

    Some further observations:

    I thought they made too much of the Protestant/RC angle. Many couples were of different denominations in Dublin and it was fine. It was like they were playing it for a UK audience who think Northern Ireland's problems are ours too.

    They should have thrown in a couple of sentences telling that UK audience that divorce was illegal until 1996, contraception was difficult to get if you weren't married until the 1990s and that abortion was only legalised two years ago.

    The fact that neither parent was named means nothing in our small country. I bet we could easily establish both parents' names with only a bit of effort. Someone will know where that Kerry graveyard is. Someone would have recognised a photo of a "well-known showband leader with 14 children".

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #11
    LennieB
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭LennieB


    The geography of the story is fascinating - both birthparents based in Dublin but siblings were left in Belfast and Dundalk, I wonder why.
    It would have been a long drive in those days, (no motorway) - wonder who drive that journey and who knew. Then to find out the birthmother actually came from the other end of the country in Co Kerry.
    The tartan bag was also interesting, whether it was used to make a connection (although doesn't seem that was considered) or it was a bag that was available to him, maybe sold in his business or something.
    At least they are in contact with some of their half-siblings, will give them more information.


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    #12
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    I wonder could his showband career have facilitated the dropping off of the babies?

    Though in the Dundalk case, the truck driver who found Helen said he saw a woman get into a car.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #13
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,640 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    Tonight's Episode - 2 June, 9pm ITV,

    "A man nicknamed Oliver Twist by hospital staff after he was left by his birth mother in a corned beef box at a Railway Tavern learns he has six full siblings in Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace. "


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    #14
    TCDStudent1
    Registered Users Posts: 3,018 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    pinkypinky wrote: »
    Did anyone watch tonight?

    Amazing story of 2 people who were both foundlings. One left near a police station outside Belfast, the other left in a phone box in Dundalk 6 years later. Both in tartan bags.

    They turn out to be full siblings. Found through DNA testing.

    Parents both lived in Dublin - he was married with 14 kids, she was his secret girlfriend - together for decades.


    Is there online anywhere to watch? I read about the story but would ike to watch if possible


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    #15
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    ITV Hub but I'm not sure that's available in the Republic (without a VPN).

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #16
    LennieB
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭LennieB


    TCDStudent1 wrote: »
    Is there online anywhere to watch? I read about the story but would ike to watch if possible

    Here’s the link on YouTube (I got a message about restricted access when I clicked on link but I just opened the YouTube app and it worked fine)

    https://youtu.be/Gh8x6ZGW0Xk


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    #17
    TCDStudent1
    Registered Users Posts: 3,018 ✭✭✭TCDStudent1


    LennieB wrote: »
    Here’s the link on YouTube (I got a message about restricted access when I clicked on link but I just opened the YouTube app and it worked fine)

    https://youtu.be/Gh8x6ZGW0Xk




    Cool, thanks


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    #18
    john9876
    Registered Users Posts: 340 ✭✭john9876


    Would love to know where in Kerry the mother was from.


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    #19
    BowWow
    Registered Users Posts: 1,760 ✭✭✭BowWow


    Looked at an episode of the current series last night.
    Struck me that DNA has moved on so much since this program started about 10 years ago.
    With the advances in DNA and the amount of people sampled now, it is possible to get really meaningful leads on both sides of an individual's family. I think that people searching for their birth parents will get somewhere in the future.


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    #20
    Hermy
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    Unfortunately, despite all the advances to date it's still possible not to get really meaningful leads.
    We're at the mercy of our matches and if close matches don't get tested all the advances in the world count for naught.

    I tested with Ancestry several years ago and despite subsequently uploading same to four other databases I still have no meaningful matches that will help me identify my birth father.

    In all of my thousands of matches there are only five of them that share more than 100cM's with me and only two of them are what I would describe as meaningful.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #21
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,640 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    On now - New "Long Lost Family" started 9pm Monday 23 May

    ITV - Sky 103



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    #22
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    I watched it. VG.

    Not sure if you're in the UK, but Sky doesn't have ITV/UTV on the planner here in Ireland. I had to tune it in on 'other channels' and it cannot be recorded or paused.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #23
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,640 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    Nah, I'm rooted here in the auld sod

    Episode 2 tonight and 3 tomorrow night.



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    #24
    Jellybaby_1
    Registered Users Posts: 900 ✭✭✭Jellybaby_1


    I haven't watched LLF for quite a while. I stopped in the early days of it as it just made me cry. Can't cope with that every week.



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    #25
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,622 Mod ✭✭✭✭pinkypinky


    It is a bit of a tearjerker.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #26
    Hermy
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hermy


    When I watch programmes like this I'm more prone to anger than tears at the lack of compassion of times past that led to so much unnecessary suffering.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



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    #27
    Lime Tree Farm
    Registered Users Posts: 2,640 ✭✭✭Lime Tree Farm


    Tonight's ITV1 9pm, "Long Lost Family" has Irish interest.



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    #28
    Jellybaby_1
    Registered Users Posts: 900 ✭✭✭Jellybaby_1


    This one gave me an overwhelming sense of sadness, and also anger. I suppose they thought when the children were 'adopted' they had dealt with 'Ireland's shame', but the shame was their own. The thing that made me gasp was when one of the men had the receipts for all the the ten bobs his mother had paid them for taking care of him, which was paid even after he had already been adopted. Beggars belief!!



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