Adoptee Aimee's story comes full circle as she celebrates birthday at Chernobyl charity shop in Cork

Jack and Aimee Kenneally. Aimee was adopted from Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan after her mum spotted an article about the charity. Now, she is celebrating her 21st birthday in the shop where she volunteers. Picture: Chani Anderson

Jack Kenneally never dreamt that his adopted baby daughter would grow up to volunteer with the charity that saved her life.

However, two decades on from an arduous ordeal, Aimee Kenneally and her father were a picture of happiness as they toasted her 21st birthday at the Greater Chernobyl Cause charity shop in Merchant’s Quay, Cork.

Aimee had been due to work at the store, as she does every week, but the director of the charity, Fiona Corcoran, who battled to bring Aimee to Ireland more than 20 years ago, had other ideas.

Members of the organisation were keen to celebrate the birthday of one of their most highly regarded volunteers.

Aimee’s mum Margaret, who passed away in 2022, had dreamt of adopting a child decades before her daughter was first placed in her arms.

The Cork woman had been so moved by a newspaper article highlighting Aimee’s birthplace at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan that she set her sights on adopting from the area.

The location had been the site of Russian nuclear weapon testing for 40 years and was one of only a few locations in the world where the death rate far exceeded the birth rate.

Ms Corcoran recalled the director of Semipalatinsk baby home in Kazakhstan handing her a beautiful baby at a visit to the centre more than two decades ago.

He pleaded with her at the time to save the infant who, it was believed, would face certain death without intervention.

Aimee Kenneally pictured with her dad Jack in the Greater Chernobyl Cause charity shop in Merchant’s Quay. Picture: Chani Anderson

Ms Corcoran was informed that the little girl’s medical issues would not withstand the transition to the Ayaga Orphanage — a building that was referred to as a “living hell.”

Draconian conditions included outdoor toilet facilities and temperatures plummeting to below minus 40 degrees.

Jack said that, in hindsight, Aimee, who has spina bifida and is a wheelchair user, would “probably not have survived” without Ms Corcoran’s intervention.

“Fiona was going to save Aimee one way or the other way,” Jack said. “We were just lucky to be on the receiving end of it. In many ways, today is a poignant day because we should be celebrating with Margaret. It had always been her idea to adopt so Aimee really is her legacy.”

Aimee Kenneally pictured in the Greater Chernobyl Cause charity shop, where she volunteered as part of her college work experience. Picture: Chani Anderson

The couple had fought hard to become parents to Aimee despite numerous stumbling blocks.

“It was far from certain,” Jack said of the adoption. “We had a big battle with the adoption authority but we beat them in the end, even though it was really tough.”

He described the positive impact Aimee had on all their lives.

“She lives every day to the full and makes our lives so much more enjoyable from the moment she gets up in the morning to the time she goes to bed.”

Aimee, who gained four siblings in the adoption, said the story of her origins never ceases to astound.

“When I speak to people and tell them my story they are shocked and interested,” she said.

“I am shocked myself that I am still here. It’s crazy when I stop to think about it. I’m really happy to have ended up here because I love living in Ireland. I love meeting new people and getting to know them.”