’Illegal’ adoptees fight cases

I wish to respond to the fine article written by Conall Ó Fatharta on ‘Illegal’ adoptions (Jan 14).

It is indeed something that is not entirely new. Not surprisingly, the various adoption authorities over the years have ignored these ‘illegal’ adoptions, and I am citing the case of the adoption of Tressa Reeves’s son Andre Donnelly (exposed by the Irish Examiner in April 2010 and further covered in RTÉ’s Prime Time in May 2010). The Adoption Authority were made aware of her case a decade ago, but as yet no action has been taken to resolve this. The same goes for the HSE. Those of us ‘illegally’ adopted who have tried to find out the circumstances of our birth have not been given one bit of help.

In 1956 the HSE discovered I had been illegally adopted in June 1954, therefore contravening the Adoption Act of 1952. I have written evidence of this and they did nothing to track my birth mother down at that time (covered by Conall Ó Fatharta. Apr 23, 2011). Despite the fact that I only found this out 10 years ago I have not been offered any help in finding my natural mother or offered counselling for the trauma it caused me.