Dominic Finn, a Cork-based county councillor and assistant school principal, has publicly detailed his search for his biological origins after discovering he was born in Dublin rather than Cork. Born on September 10, 1975, and placed in the care of St. Patrick’s Infant Hospital in Dublin before being moved to the Bessborough mother and baby home, Mr. Finn successfully reunited with his birth parents and six siblings in 2020 after a decades-long search for his medical history.
Did You Know? Dominic Finn, who grew up believing he was from Cork, discovered through his adoption records that he had been baptized three times: once in Dublin, once at the Lough Presbytery in Cork, and finally in his hometown of Cobh, Co. Cork.
How the search for identity unfolded
Mr. Finn’s journey began in 2019 when he contacted the national adoption service in Glanmire, Cork, seeking medical records for his own children. According to Mr. Finn, the agency revealed his birth name was Andrew Doyle and that he had been born at Holles Street Hospital in Dublin. The process was accelerated in 2020 when Mr. Finn, while working from home, identified a nurse who had cared for him at St. Patrick’s Infant Hospital in 1975. With the nurse’s assistance and follow-up communication with the adoption service, he obtained his full records. By October 2020, a social worker confirmed he had located his birth parents, Ann and John Feery, and six biological siblings.
Expert Insight: The prevalence of adoptees in public life in Cork, including three current county councillors who spent time in the Bessborough facility, highlights the widespread, multi-generational impact of Ireland’s former mother and baby home system. Mr. Finn’s experience underscores the tension between individual rights to personal history and the restrictive nature of historical record-keeping practices, such as the use of baptismal certificates to obscure birth origins.
Why this story carries broader significance
The disclosure by Mr. Finn serves as a personal account of the systemic practices used by adoption societies in the 1970s. Mr. Finn reported that his adoptive parents were given limited information—only that his birth father was a carpenter—and that he was provided with a baptismal certificate from a Cork church to facilitate his religious sacraments while masking his Dublin origins. His experience is shared by other public figures in the region, including Mayor of County Cork Mary Linehan-Foley and councillor Marie O’Sullivan, both of whom have also identified themselves as former residents of the Bessborough home.
What may happen next
As Mr. Finn continues to integrate his biological family into his life, he has expressed a desire to maintain the bonds established between his home in Cobh and his birth family’s roots in Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath. Following the death of his biological father, John, in 2024, the family may continue to focus on strengthening these connections. Within the broader context of Irish local government, the vocalization of these experiences by three sitting Cork councillors could potentially lead to further public discourse regarding the legacy of mother and baby homes and the ongoing challenges adoptees face in accessing complete, unredacted records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Dominic Finn find his birth family?
After contacting the national adoption service in 2019, Mr. Finn utilized a feeding chart from his time as an infant to locate a nurse who had cared for him. This connection helped facilitate communication with the adoption service, leading to a successful search by a social worker.
What were the obstacles to his search?
Mr. Finn cited the destruction of some files and strict GDPR regulations as significant barriers that initially prevented him from accessing complete information, despite the files being present in the room during his meetings with the adoption agency.
Are there other councillors with similar backgrounds?
Yes. Out of 55 councillors in County Cork, three—Dominic Finn, Mary Linehan-Foley, and Marie O’Sullivan—have identified themselves as former residents of the Bessborough mother and baby home.
Have you or a family member ever navigated the complexities of searching for ancestral or biological records in Ireland?
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