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Search
& Reunion
If you are
an adopted person or natural mother/father/family member and are considering tracing,
please
download our Tracing Handbooks below which will assist you in conducting
your trace.
Adopted
People's Tracing Handbooks
Tracing
Handbook For Irish Adopted People Part One
Tracing
Handbook for People Adopted from Ireland to the US
Tracing
Handbook Part Two
(For
everyone - download this when you have located your birth certificate)
Tracing
Handbook for Persons Illegally Adopted
Natural Parents
Tracing Handbook
Tracing
Handbook for Natural Parents
Please
note: We will be uploading a Tracing Handbook for siblings
of adopted people as soon as possible, in the meantime, please use the
Handbook for natural parents. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Illegal
Adoptions
Please note: We are currently updating our Tracing Handbook for
Illegal Adoptions since the Adoption Board Chairperson, Geoffrey Shannon
made a commitment to deal with the issue. Feel free to download
the existing document above and if you require assistance do not
hesitate to contact
us. - Update: Click
here for the latest developments on illegal adoptions, as well as
further suggestions that might help you on your trace.
About to
reunite?
If
you are about to reunite with a natural parent and/or family member and
would like to talk about how to approach the situation, please feel free
to contact
us for a chat.
Note: This service is operated on a peer support
basis and is not a counselling service.
Click
here for information and advice regarding Search
Angels/Volunteers
Coming Soon...
Coming soon - Tracing Handbooks for people born in the UK and
adopted in Ireland; Handbooks for Siblings and Other Relatives of Adopted
People (people in this situation can use the Tracing Handbook for
Natural Parents in the meantime as the method is quite similar).
Also coming soon - Tracing Handbooks for Intercountry Adoptions. If you are awaiting these handbooks and need advice, do
not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Private
Investigators
We advise against using Private Investigators, who in
our experience,
are
usually neither trained nor experienced in the area of adoption and will
often employ methods that are completely unsuitable to adoption traces.
Myths
and Facts...
The
"Illegal" Myth
If you
have been told it is illegal for adopted people and natural parents
to trace for themselves, this is completely untrue.
The records used in tracing are on public record and are the same
records used by genealogists. Quite simply, you are doing
nothing wrong.
The Birth Certificate Myth
The
Adoption Board states that natural mothers must first be contacted
before it will release a birth certificate to an adopted person.
This is completely unnecessary and by using this Tracing Handbook
you can obtain your birth certificate without having to contact your
natural mother first.
The "Original Birth Certificate" Myth
Every
person who is born has his or her birth entered in the Register of
Births, from which birth certificates are generated.
Adopted people’s births are registered in their original
identity, however when they were adopted, they were entered into the
Adopted Children’s Register in their new adoptive identity.
The document used by adopted people as a birth certificate in
everyday life is in fact an “Extract from the Adopted Children’s
Register”. The term
“original birth certificate” is incorrect, because each
person has only one birth certificate.
If you have
any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at
tracing@adoptionrightsalliance.com
Interested in
learning more about your adoption history and heritage? For
history, information and photos of mother and baby homes, visit our
history and heritage page. Click
here to learn more.
Magdalene
Laundries
If your natural mother was
incarcerated in a Magdalene Laundry please see the Research Guide below
which may be of help to you.
Research
Guide for Relatives of Magdalene Women
If you are a
natural mother who was incarcerated in a Magdalene Laundry and would
like to obtain your records please
see the Research Guide below which may be of help to you.
Research
Guide for Magdalene Survivors
Please also visit the Justice for
Magdalenes website here.
Printed Copies
If you are seeking
a printed copy of our handbooks, please send a large stamped, self
addressed envelope to the address below, with a short note stating which
handbook you require and a contact telephone number should we need to
clarify something with you. Please note, we are a voluntary
organisation not in receipt of any funds, so we would ask you to only
request a printed copy if you absolutely need to.
General
Registrar's Office
You can order
certificates online here.
You can also order birth, death, marriage or adoption certificates from the General
Registrar's Office at Roscommon by post. You will need to fill in a form
beforehand. These forms are available for download below:
Birth
Certificate Application Form
Death
Certificate Application Form
Marriage
Certificate Application Form
Adoption
Certificate Application Form
The
information we provide is free of charge. However we are all
volunteers and do not receive funding of any kind.
If
you would like to make a donation to help cover our expenses you can
send a cheque to:
Adoption
Rights Alliance
The Mill House,
Millview Road,
Malahide,
Co. Dublin
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