Irish doctor organized illegal adoptions leaving no paper trail for people to find their families

Dr. Irene Creedon hailed as a heroine by some despite leaving others frustrated

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KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

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Monaghan GP Dr Irene Creedon arranged secret adoptions at her surgery

Photo by Daily Mail

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“I believe my adoptive mother didn’t have a clue about my past, or else she was told, ‘Don’t ever repeat this.’

“But by my birth cert it looks as if nothing ever happened. There was three months between me being born and being registered. In the years that followed I went to look at the registry and my dad signed it, it was his handwriting… but my mother didn’t sign it.

“Mam developed Alzheimer’s around 10 years ago so it became much harder to find out more about my past. Even for health reasons alone it became more important to me to know who I am, to know about my identity.”

Not surprisingly, Norton is left frustrated with the entire operation. However, Dr. Creedon’s daughter Marie McDermott defends her late mother’s actions.

“She helped a lot of people,” McDermott said. “They were different times and a different era. People came to her when they needed help, whether it was to give up a child or to adopt a child.”

“My mother was a wonderful person, a heroine, she was an extraordinary woman.”

“Paperwork wasn’t something they were strict about back then; that’s changed for the better. Some people don’t want to be found but I do understand that people have a right to know who they are. Lots of girls had babies who were hidden or given away back then. It was very sad and people were ashamed. Mammy helped a lot of those people.”

McDermott insists that her mother never took money for helping the adoptions. “The things she did to help people was unreal: she helped people who were elderly and hungry as well as people who could not have children and were not allowed to have children. She did not ask for money; it was not about money, she had her own. Sometimes she came home with a bag of potatoes or turnips as a gift.”

Still though, Margaret Norton is angry with the entire operation. “I’m angry that this went on when it shouldn’t have. It was completely wrong.”

“I have absolutely no idea who my birth parents are and there is no way of me finding out without them coming forward or passing me some information. There is simply no trace of my past and every door has been closed in my face.”

“I have a nice life. So I just need to know who my birth mother is. Even if she was to contact me to say, “I am who I am and my family don’t know”, I understand. Even if I get a note in the door anonymously, that’s fine by me. I respect her privacy. I just want to know who I am.”

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