# Adoption

All time

'Many still don't know where loved ones are buried': Irish abuse conference happening in Boston

Minister Katherine Zappone will deliver a keynote speech at the event which is exploring adoption and institutional abuses.

10.5k

Nov 1st 2018, 3:00 PM

# mother-and-baby homes

'My mother was tied to the bed and when she couldn't push, one of the nuns sat on her chest'

A new report on mother and baby homes has recommended the State give those affected a statutory right to access files.

100k

Oct 15th 2018, 10:52 AM

# St Patrick's Guild

Adoption scandal: Officials questioned whether telling those affected would 'do more harm than good'

There may be more people than the 126 identified so far caught up in the St Patrick’s Guild adoption scandal.

18.6k

Jul 6th 2018, 12:05 AM

# Adoption

'Lies, secrets and silences': Some people with illegally registered births will never know

Minister Zappone has appointed an independent reviewer to oversee an analysis of tens of thousands of records.

10.4k

Jun 14th 2018, 5:08 PM

# Adoption

'Ireland's history needs to be cleaned up': Calls for scope of Mother and Baby Homes inquiry to be extended

The Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors also called for a full national DNA database with free testing for all adoptees and illegal adoptees.

7.4k

Jun 12th 2018, 1:13 PM

Voices

Joan Burton: 'I only saw my long form birth cert when I was close to 50 years of age'

Joan Burton TD recalls her personal efforts to obtain information on her adoption and what legal reforms are now necessary after revelations on the faking of birth certificates.

58.3k

Jun 6th 2018, 7:00 AM

# Your Say

Poll: Should adopted people be allowed access their full birth information?

The issue of adoption rights has been to the forefront in recent days.

29.6k

141

May 31st 2018, 9:58 AM

# Adoption

'My date of birth was changed, so my biological parents had no hope of finding me'

Yesterday it was revealed that 126 children adopted between 1946 and 1969 weren’t registered correctly.

19.9k

May 30th 2018, 6:08 PM

# false registrations

Varadkar says there'll be 'difficult conversations' as some Irish people find out they were adopted

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said, “This really needs to be dealt with with the ultimate sensitivity in the period ahead.”

24.5k

May 30th 2018, 11:30 AM

# St Patrick's Guild

Zappone reveals at least 126 children were wrongly registered as biological children of adoptive parents

People who were born between 1946 and 1969, who don’t have an adoption order, and were placed by St Patrick’s Guild may be affected by the revelation.

27.9k

103

May 29th 2018, 3:26 PM

# Adoption

Oklahoma passes law allowing adoption agencies deny children to LGBT families on religious grounds

It’s similar to laws in at least five other states.

14.2k

216

May 4th 2018, 7:33 AM

Voices

Column: So you think adoption has nothing to do with you?

Adoption affects more of us than we realise. 900,000 people are directly affected by adoption or close to 20% of the current population of Ireland, writes Paul Redmond.

32.8k

Apr 15th 2018, 8:45 AM

# PSC

"It is the worst form of humiliation" - Woman denied Public Services Card due to adopted status

“I just burst out crying,” the 50-year-old woman says. “I really think this is the highest form of discrimination.”

61.0k

111

Jan 21st 2018, 12:05 AM

# Home

'They were hell on earth': Global efforts to get kids out of orphanages are paying off

The number of children in Romania’s orphanages has plummeted from more than 100,000 in the 80s to about 7,000.

16.8k

Dec 25th 2017, 1:00 PM

# dogs trust

'By getting a puppy at Christmas you're putting it at the worst start in life'

Dogs Trust is repeating its warning to the public to not give dogs as Christmas presents.

28.8k

Dec 21st 2017, 6:15 AM

# singled out

'I've had to tell more people in the last few months than in my entire life' - Man denied Public Services Card because he's adopted

“This shambolic process is now making me feel like a second class citizen – I’m being treated unequally because I’m adopted.”

89.2k

106

Nov 6th 2017, 12:05 AM

# International Agreement

35 US-born children adopted by Irish families

The adoptions have taken place in the last four years.

27.0k

Nov 2nd 2017, 6:45 PM

# Across the water

'Sold to the highest bidder' - how Ireland's institutions allowed Americans to adopt Irish children in the 1950s

On average 10 Irish children (the vast majority born outside of marriage) per month were adopted by American citizens in the early-to-mid 1950s.

56.7k

121

Jan 9th 2017, 6:10 AM

# Adoption

Burton outraged at letter to TDs claiming children adopted by same-sex couples are more likely to be abused

Former Tánaiste said she found the letter “needlessly offensive” to adopted people and gay people.

18.9k

173

Nov 30th 2016, 7:30 PM

# hey dad

The lovely moment a teen asks her mam's partner to adopt her is going super viral

It gets emotional.

8.4k

Aug 20th 2016, 2:36 PM

# bring me home

This kind air hostess adopted a stray dog that waited outside her hotel for six months

SIX months!

7.0k

Aug 11th 2016, 10:00 PM

# Gobi

A stray dog followed a runner for half a desert marathon, and now she's getting adopted

No YOU’RE crying.

5.4k

Aug 7th 2016, 9:12 AM

# Find my family

Adopted people are desperately trying to seek their natural families - before it's too late

People trying to find their birth relatives before they die have to wait two years to see a social worker.

14.5k

Jun 25th 2016, 7:40 AM

# sob

The lovely moment a girl asked the man who raised her to adopt her is going viral on Facebook

It’s even caught Ellen DeGeneres’ attention.

6.2k

Mar 10th 2016, 8:12 AM

# The Magnificent Seven

Aged 61, actor discovers he was adopted: 'I went from being an only child to the eldest of seven'

Alan Stanford says, ‘Knowing you haven’t been forgotten is so important’

48.0k

Jan 26th 2016, 6:10 AM

"Meeting my birth father for the first time was really a unique experience."

TV3′s Adoption Stories has followed up on Dan, adopted from Romania when he was three.

14.7k

Jan 19th 2016, 10:36 AM

# adoption stories

'If I was a scientist I'd invent a time machine, and go visit my birth mother'

Nine years after being adopted by Irish parents, Liwen has settled in well.

15.3k

Jan 5th 2016, 6:00 AM

Voices

My first daughter was taken from me at 18, but I never gave up hope of meeting her again

Adopted children shouldn’t be prevented from contacting their natural mothers, Irish First Mothers founder Kathy McMahon writes.

1.6k

Aug 6th 2015, 5:00 PM

Voices

Should adopted children have the right to contact their natural mother? Not if it endangers vulnerable women

My natural mother wants nothing to do with me and so I leave her in peace, however painful it is to do so.

6.9k

Jul 31st 2015, 5:00 PM

# birth right

'Truly historic' - Adopted children will soon have the right to their birth records

Birth parents will be allowed declare if they do not wish to be contacted.

16.4k

Jul 28th 2015, 10:30 AM

# sibling love

'It's like looking at myself in drag' - adopted brother and sister reunited after 40 years

Paul recognised Maggie immediately when he met her for the first time.

33.5k

Jul 9th 2015, 7:00 PM

# DNA

This woman thought she had found her birth mother's family, but it wasn't what it seemed

“I was so happy those days, I was thinking ‘This is definitely right, this is my family’.”

34.5k

Jun 25th 2015, 6:00 AM

Voices

Baby Maria, childcare, and why all we want the 'storybook child'

There are currently over 6,000 children in the Irish care system but in childhood, as in life, the implication is that younger is better.

244

Jun 16th 2015, 9:00 PM

Voices

'The marriage referendum proposal could affect future laws relating to children'

Solicitor Eileen King writes about why a group of lawyers are advocating a No vote this Friday.

499

211

May 19th 2015, 7:30 PM

# what you need to know

'Same-sex marriage referendum WON'T change adoption in Ireland'

No matter which way you vote, Special Rapporteur for Children, Geoffrey Shannon has said.

31.9k

331

May 11th 2015, 10:00 PM

Voices

The Yes campaign excludes those with reservations about same sex marriage

The fact is that some voters have reservations about gay couples adopting children, therefore genuine engagement on this issue is needed.

128

244

Apr 18th 2015, 8:00 AM

# not just for...

People are still buying rabbits and chicks 'on a whim' at Easter

The furry little animals can be great pets but they need a lot of love and care.

16.3k

Apr 4th 2015, 3:34 PM

# safe haven

Baby boxes - The place for parents to anonymously give up their newborns

The practice is common in parts of Europe and is being considered in the US.

46.3k

Mar 15th 2015, 2:52 PM

# Abortion

'If my daughter was raped I'd never force her to carry a child'

“I’m very conscious that I was an unwanted pregnancy.”

26.1k

Mar 3rd 2015, 8:30 PM

# State of the Nation

Will new family law impact same-sex marriage vote?

Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Irish politics right now…

11.2k

463

Feb 18th 2015, 11:55 AM