Long Lost Family ( Irish Couple)

[Bobbisox1]

How cruel was the Catholic Church ( again ) in Co Clare in Ireland ?
Bloody inhuman !

[10ClarionSt]

Never mind Co Clare. The catholic clergy were bad enough here.

[Bobbisox1]

It was 'here' in London 10c, they took a 5 week baby from two Irish teenagers and had him adopted to a Spanish family , the Judge " don't worry you both come from big Irish families, you'll have more children"
Heartless!!

[10ClarionSt]

Well bobbi, having Irish grandparents and other Irish relatives, being brought up a catholic (totally lapsed!), nothing would surprise me about the catholic clergy. Heartless is a compliment!

[Bobbisox1]

So cold 10c, So cold

[Prudie]

I'm not actually watching this one but have watched many Long Lost Family episodes. It's not just the catholic church but attitudes back pre-70s - all religions and particularly parents forced their unmarried daughters to give up their babies.

[barry1010]

How about the British government sending children to Canada and Australia? Over 130,000 children from deprived backgrounds right in to the 70s, some were 3 years old. The Anglican churches, Barbados, the government all played a part. Many children were falsely told they were orphans. Shocking, disgraceful part of UK recent history. The Catholic church in Ireland behaved appallingly but so did the UK

[barry1010]

Oops. Auto correct strikes again. Barnardo's, not Barbados

[ummmm]

Funnily enough, Barry, I'm about to start a book 'To Hell or Barbados' The ethnic cleansing of Ireland.

[chrissa1]

My late husband was given up for adoption because his mother’s parents couldn’t bear the shame. She then went on to marry his father and then in 1986 after searches by us, I took a phone call from a woman telling me she was his mother and wanted to meet him.

She came and stayed with us in NI and everything was fine. However when we moved back to England, all communications stopped and despite, faxes, phone calls and letters, we never heard from her again.

I’ve always felt that my husband never got over it and caused his heavy drinking, which killed him in the end.
I watch it and raise two fingers to the South of me, when I do.

[Bobbisox1]

Gosh Chrissa, that's so sad

[barry1010]

Very sorry to hear that, Chrissa.

[chrissa1]

I know, Bobbisox. Thank you .

[KARL]

I know someone whose great grandmother never married but between 1876 and 1886 had four children by four different men. Like so many single mothers there at that time, she brought them all up herself and all went on to have their own children. This sort of thing continued until the present time, none were institutionalised and stories of them willingly or unwillingly placing their young children permanently in the care of others are quite rare although teenagers often grew up away from home. This was in Europe but not in Ireland or the UK, and the Catholic church was nowhere near. Early evidence of that country being more socially advanced, as it remains.

[gness]

Germany perhaps, Karl? Anyway, they were very lucky indeed to not have the Catholic Church anywhere near them.

[KARL]

Not Germany, not sure (actually, doubt) if their records would accurately show the family history.

[gness]

Okay. Wherever they were they were very lucky...or maybe not luck but sense..... :-)

[jno]

Karl, one of my great-grannies was like that: three daughters, all by different fathers. I wish I knew more about how she got away with it.

[ummmm]

I don't know about my great grandmother. Apparently she never spoke about my nans father and my nan hasn't even a picture of him. She brought up 9 kids on her own. All 9 have the same father.

[jno]

ummmm, my granny (who died before I was born) never knew who her father was either. She suspected he was Indian. I think she was right. I have DNA from all over the place.

[venator]

Just be happy the Spanish Inquisition didn't get tp Ireland!