Wanted: Irish women to help in
migration project
 By
Cornelia Lucey
A leading academic is appealing to the Irish in Britain for information
which might help with his research on migration.
Dr John McLeod is set to embark on a project exploring cultural representations
of adoption which according to him has remained unopened for too long
in the Irish community in Britain.
And he needs your help.
The Leeds University lecturer is asking for Irish women who have felt
obliged or forced to give up children because of circumstance to record
their experiences before they become silenced in history.
The 37-year-old said: “I am surprised by how little material there
is out there to support the well-known fact that many Irish women were
forced or felt obliged to give up their babies in the post-war period
and even up to the present day.
“There are a small number of the adopted who have voiced their experiences
on Irish adoption. A recent example is adopted radio presenter Nicky Campbell
who, in his book Blue-Eyed Son, speaks of his experience of tracing his
birth parents who hailed from Dublin.
“But I can find virtually no record of an Irish woman in Britain
talking of her experience in giving up her child — either in fiction
or reality.”
As a specialist in the field of post-colonial studies, Dr McLeod is intrigued
by how little the Irish migration experience has been recorded at all
in literary fiction. But he is particularly interested in the silence
surrounding adoption.
According to Dr McLeod it is impossible to make the correlation between
immigration and adoption because the birth mother’s nationality
is not recorded in any public files — but it undeniably played a
role.
Looking for help, he said: “I am struck by the vocal silence of
the women themselves who would have gone through this incredible experience.
“If there is anyone out there who would like to share their experience
— or can point to any sources fiction, film or memoir which discuss
Irish adoption — it would be enormously appreciated.
“Nobody is looking to judge those who may have found themselves
in extremely difficult circumstances in a religious and cultural environment
which was beyond their control.
“Rather, my priority is to understand and value the stories of those
who have so often remained silent, perhaps against their own will.”
If you have any information or would like to talk about your own experience
please contact Cornelia Lucey at The Irish Post on 020 8741 0649.
All responses will be handled sensitively.
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