The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast: Dominic Finn’s story of being adopted from Bessborough

Dominic Finn tells Deirdre O’Shaughnessy about his happy childhood as one of four adopted children in Cobh

With Bessborough in the news due to controversial building plans, those who survived the notorious institution are telling their stories in unprecedented numbers.

Cork County councillor Dominic Finn is one of three ‘Bessborough babies’ who sits on the local authority — a remarkable statistic, but one that he believes just shows how common adoption was in Ireland in the 1970s.

In today’s episode, he tells Deirdre O’Shaughnessy about his happy childhood as one of four adopted children in Cobh, his search for his birth family, and how grateful he feels to have escaped the fate of so many less fortunate Bessborough babies.