Assisi Mother & Baby Homes

[Damian Keady]

Hi Annie

Thanks so much for posting and sharing your personal experience on this topic. I think the more people that do post and share, helps many others who have been through the whole M&B Home system, as even the minimal amount of information on a forum like this can hopefully be a little bit of help to others. 

For example this particular thread as of today, as I am writing this, has now been read 37,494 times, I think that in itself is indicative of how many people have been affected and are searching to find out more to enable them to put into perspective their beginnings in life, and/or what their birth mothers went through. As it is only now as we are all getting older and through our own shared endeavours, that we are staring to find out drip by drip the truth which has been covered up for so long. Although like you have said, there have now been a few books written about it.

I was sorry to hear your own story, and even though you were taken from your birth mother, I sincerely hope that you had a good experience as an adopted child.

I sometimes wish I had been adopted rather than gone through the childhood I had, but then again if I had been adopted and not experienced what I did, then I might probably not be as interested in my own story and the whole sorry practice of M&B Homes.

I wish you all the very best
DAMO

[Damian Keady]

Hi Annie

It's me again, sorry to bother you... I hope you are well though!

You mentioned you are a Family Law Solicitor..

Both you and I have something in common, we were both born at Assisi, the place our maternal mothers gave birth to us.. as babies...

Not asking for you to commit at this point in time to anything, but if you would like to explore further the M&B Homes scenario as to what went on and why we struggle to get answers today, I would be more than happy to assist you and also take a lead, in getting some answers or at least some perspective..

As mentioned, there are so many people that just need to know Why...You can PM me on here.

I think your qualification and life skills and my tenacity may get some answers, not just for me and you, but for all those those whose seek the answers to their own questions..

Best wishes for now..

Damo x

[annielaw]

Hi Damo

Thank you for your replies.  I just wonder whether we would ever get answers. All the publicity has always surrounded the Catholic church in Ireland but it is frightening to know that the same things were happening in England and went on until well into the 1980s.  Thank goodness we are more enlightened these days.

Best wishes to you.

[Damian Keady]

Hi Annie

I agree.. it is very hard to get anyone, whether organisations, individuals or otherwise to tell us any truth's.

That said we should never give up.. as I would be more than happy to tell my story to the media and take it from there.. with help from them to find out why we have had to endure this.

I have made some very small personal progress on my story, but all it tells me is my natural Irish family are now all dead, that's if I just follow the path I am led to believe.. That is so sad for me..!!

But I don't do just that, so even though I can see family graves in Ireland, and maybe they are all dead, I still want to know why.. and to connect with them as my family...

One day maybe?

Best
DAMO x

[Newell60]

Hello. I thought I’d return to share some news.I was born in The Asssisi home in 1960. I decided last year to try and trace my Birth Mum. Was pretty sure I’d traced her but wanted proof so did a DNA test. Confirmed my investigations. Haven’t seen my Adoption papers yet but have started the process.
Just like yours  Damian, my Birth mum was a Galway girl as well!!! Something else we now have in common! Hope all who have posted here are fine.   

Ernie

[Damian Keady]

Hi Ernie

It's so good to hear from you.. and I am so glad you are making headway with your journey of discovery.

Also I would like to thank you very much for staying in touch with this thread... and for posting your updates... thanks ever so much. Really mean that!!

So me and you now both know we are of Irish descent from our birth Mums side.... and we are both from Galway and from the same generation and were both born at Assisi.....  It's a small world as the say.. You and I could be related, but it's not for us to explore that on this forum as they frown on it...

That said.. we are both now Galway boys... !!

That means a lot to me as I was never sure of my birth Mum's area of birth or family ties until I researched it last year... My Irish (mums) relatives were from the Barna, Furbo and the Moycullen area of Galway.. Like I said it means a lot to me, I now need to go and plant my feet in the ground over there and soak it all up...

Best wishes Ernie... Hope we speak again soon!

Damian

[Newell60]

Hello again Damien. I’ve been rereading your posts in this thread. So we have Galway roots in common. My roots are Rosmuc, just 30 odd miles away from Barna. More uncanny is that our Mums share the same Christian name. And,,,, they were the same age. Mine was born in 1936.As I was re-reading your posts,,, for a moment or two I thought,,,,!!! Then I re-read where in Galway your mum was from. That would have been wierd!

[Damian Keady]

Hi Ernie

It's so good to hear from you again and sorry for my tardy response..

However, I am now back on the work treadmill again after 27 months off..!!! Partly my choice to get a job again (I have actually started a business), after being made redundant back in Dec 2016 and deciding back then I wanted to taking some time out, after all if I hadn't, I would probably not have had the luxury to have done the family history research which I have done so far to date.

It's still a long way to go on this journey and it may never end, but at least I have taken the first step. As Confucius said.. "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

You made me laugh with your presumptions... but who knows anything until it can be discounted.. although I agree it would be something of a stretch for me and you to share the same Mum..

We do though both now know we share Irish roots and specifically County Galway... and I am glad you are making progress with your own Ancestry research..

Take care Ernie... one day we may know what is missing from our lives / history.. But we can't turn back the clock.. For me it is all about just a need to know, whatever that may be, I just need to know it all.

Best wishes
Damo

[rosinamangan]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to pick up on what Annielaw said about mothers being at Sheringham/being offered jobs by the nuns. I have correspondence between the nun at Assisi and Mother Lelia at Sheringham flagging up my mum as the 'girl she wanted to come and cook for her'. My mum didn't take up the offer. Have to say, I felt it was a pretty insensitive job offer given Mum had had to give me up and would be surrounded by lots of babies at Sheringham, but there you go.
I met with St Francis Childrens' Society social workers and as well as the adoption info I got years ago, managed to get a few more docs out of them. Also I saw a book about Sheringham 'Nursery' and took a pic of Mother Lelia on my phone. Please see attachment.