I.O’T. v. B
Irish Supreme Court
[1998] 2 I.R. 321 (1998)
- Written by Meredith Hamilton Alley, JD
Facts
Before Ireland’s enactment of the 1952 Adoption Act, the Irish government did not recognize adoptions. Instead, families informally adopted children in an arrangement similar to foster care. Before 1952, two women (the birth mothers) relinquished the custody of their daughters (plaintiffs) to the Rotunda Girls Aid Society (the agency) (defendant) on the condition of confidentiality. The agency placed the daughters in the custody of foster families. When the daughters became adults, they wished to know the identities of their birth mothers. The agency’s custodian of records, Father Doyle (defendant), sent a letter to each of the birth mothers on the daughters’ behalf. One of the birth mothers responded that she could not cope with further contact, and the other birth mother could not be found. The daughters sued the agency and Doyle, asking a circuit court to order the disclosure of the names of the birth mothers. The circuit court certified several questions to the Irish Supreme Court, including the following: did a child who was informally adopted before the Adoption Act became law have a constitutional right to know the identity of her birth mother?
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hamilton, C.J.)
Dissent (Keane, J.)
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