Sir, Your second leader of April 12th, "Adoption Rights", gives the impression that secrecy, prejudice and denial regarding illegitimacy and adoption were quite peculiar to Ireland. As one who was a pupil midwife in a maternity hospital in Wales in the 1950s, and subsequently a social worker in different parts of London, I can say certainly that such attitudes flourished in Wales and England also.
They were more marked in small communities, where any "social deviance" was rardly passed over, because it was a reflection on the whole family. However, as occasionally in Ireland, some single mothers did manage to rear their children and what made this possible, in the days before any state help, was native courage coupled with emotional and financial backing from family and friends. Single parenthood had its economic aspect.
The generally accepted view - that "closed" adoption was in the best interests of both mother and child - was not questioned much anywhere until the 1980s. What seems to have altered people's thinking then was greater interest in child development, plus the discovery that knowledge about one's background and identity can enhance self esteem. And so it can, but not, unfortunately, in every case. The actual reasons why they went into care as children are not going to be easy for some adults to know.
We do ourselves a disservice when we assume, as we are inclined to do, that we in Ireland are always set apart by being worse than anybody else. - Yours etc
Ballyre Cottage,
Killeagh, Co. Cork.