A man born in Dublin and then adopted to New York at birth was finally reunited with his birth family after six decades.
Patrick Madden, who was given up at birth in Dublin for adoption to a New York family, had much cause to celebrate recently as he experienced an emotional reunion with his birth family after 63 years.
Madden overcame many bureaucratic difficulties to find out the truth about his birth family and finally be in a position to reunite with them back in Ireland.
Patrick Madden – adopted by an Irish American couple
Patrick Madden was adopted by an Irish American couple who raised him in the Bronx as their only child. His adopted parents were an Irish father and Irish American mother. Madden only learned the truth about his birth family in Ireland last January at the age of 63.
However, the news that he was adopted didn’t surprise Madden as he admitted that he didn’t look very similar to his adopted parents and that he never possessed a birth certificate. The lack of a birth certificate made his initial attempts to discover his birth mother very difficult.
Reuniting with birth family – a momentous occasion
Madden had spent 25 years attempting to secure an Irish passport, but, in his words, he had “doors slammed in my face at every turn” even though he was born in Ireland to Irish parents. However, his lack of a birth certificate remained a substantial stumbling block.
However, his luck changed when he contacted a San Francisco attorney who successfully acquired a copy of his birth certificate in January of this year.
The discovery of his birth certificate revealed a tremendous amount of information and opened many doors. Most importantly, it showed an address for a private nursing home named St. Rita’s in Dublin that was notorious at the time for operating a black market for baby adoptions.
After next delving through 88 pages of records from St. Rita’s, Madden discovered another address, that of his birth mother’s grandparents. After some back and forth with letters and phone calls, a meeting was scheduled between himself and his birth family in Dublin.
Speaking about the occasion of meeting them, Madden said, “We had a great time. I met five of my brothers and sisters in total. Another guy is in Scotland, and there’s a sister in Surrey.
“The remarkable thing was that it was like 63 years vanished. I was home. I often felt homeless, or I didn’t feel attached or connected”.
Patrick’s story – will hopefully inspire others
Since the reunion with his birth family, Madden has kept in regular contact with them and described meeting them as a “truly remarkable experience”.
“It was a long road to get to it, but the fact that we’re there now and feel part of something is delightful. It was like we were together forever. I’ve never heard of anything like it.
“I kind of hope somebody might read about something like this and gain something from it,” explained Madden.
