Telephone directory 1950

[lc1718]

that's sounds odd all right, first time i phoned the HSE they said the same then told me to ring child & family agency. very annoying going round in circles. can I ask if you ever wrote to anyone? I was advised to put everything in writing but not sure if it would help

[M Mary]

Hi LC, I didn't see the add it was stated by another person early on in this thread. Will check a few other sources next week. 

Thanks LC and Persian

[persian]

I saw Fintan Gaven the legal side of the Archbishops Palace. I had heard about 'the secret files" held there. These were of the children born in such homes. Was told they had to keep them to ensure one did not marry a sibling. Which is why you apply for approval to marry. He denied they existed. I wrote to the then minister for children France's Fitzgerald who refused to answer questions or meet me. I have done a statement for the current enquiry. I was told they are only dealing with 14 of the bigger homes not the smaller ones. You name it I have tried

[lc1718]

persian, that's very interesting & shows how much influence the catholic church had & how they assumed people would marry in the church.

 I'm starting to think the district midwives were employed directly as read yesterday that the local health authority provided living accommodation for the dispensary doctor & district midwife.

it would be great to know how many dispensaries were near #78 & if the local health authority paid a set amount for all mothers no matter where they had their baby. if they did,then who paid the extra charges for the 'private' service? was it the mother or her family?

I wonder if #78 was the only private nursing home around that area - would that info be in Thom's?
so many questions...

[lc1718]

did anyone manage to find original bc in the gro?

[persian]

There was a number of these places within walking distance of each other. I was born in 78 but handed over to foster parents 7 days later. This was done with another midwife Nurse Farrell on the north circular road. To my knowledge there was at least 3 on the NCR. They worked along side each other . Nurse Gallagher worked with them.

[lc1718]

thanks for that info Persian , very helpful.  its impossible to get answers from the authorities & you have done a lot of research.. any advice about getting a copy of every birth cert for the Dublin north register for person's birth date & hope to find one with #78 as place of birth? 

[persian]

I went to the GRO and searched the book from 3 months before my birth to 3 months after. The trick is to look for babies with the same name as the mother, you know then there was no father named. Always remember the midwives also lied about birth dates to hide things. Unfortunately I didn't find anything. If you have a name and year of birth it's a lot easier. The registers go in quarters and there are usually some at the back of the book that were late entries. Good luck x

[lc1718]

thanks again Persian, great. info