Three people abandoned as babies in Ireland believe fourth is out there
David McBride, born in 1962, was left in a car in a Belfast driveway. John Dowling, born in 1965, was found in a Drogheda phone box and Helen Ward, born in 1968, was discovered in a Dundalk phone box. All three were adopted and raised in different parts of Ireland.
However, in 2020, Helen and David discovered they were brother and sister through DNA technology and reunited on the ITV series Long Lost Family. They were both shocked to discover that they had another full sibling, John.
The long-lost siblings are now seeking help as they believe they have a fourth sibling. As part of a new RTÉ documentary called The Phone Box Babies, the family hope it will encourage their sibling to get in touch.
The programme follows them as they uncover untold stories that reflect the Ireland of the past. Their mother was a young Catholic woman from the Republic of Ireland who, in the 1940s, began an affair with a married Protestant man from Northern Ireland, who was 17 years her senior and had 14 children of his own.
This affair endured for decades and, in that time, David, John, and Helen were born – and given up. Speaking about the documentary, Helen said: "This documentary has opened up the lines of communication about our biological parents, with people willing to share their stories.
"I hope the documentary fosters understanding and empathy, especially about what it's like to have to question your roots. I hope it encourages people to be open and receptive to helping others with similar experiences. The longing for connection with family is valid and deeply human."
During the documentary, the siblings confront some painful truths about their parents' complex relationship, who are both dead. And while they unravel the impact the abandonment had on their lives, Helen, David and John open their arms to new family members.
They discover they have many half-siblings and are determined to unearth the buried secrets of their family's past, in the hope that it will bring them closer together.
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RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
The Phone Box Babies - a search for truth, identity and belonging
In 1960s Ireland, three newborn babies were abandoned in different parts of the country and left without any clue to their identity. Fifty years later, those three children discover they are connected and embark on an emotional journey to uncover their identities. A remarkable new RTÉ documentary, The Phone Box Babies, tells their story. One of the 'foundlings', Helen Ward, writes about her search for identity and their experiences while making the documentary. I was nine years old when someone subtly mentioned that I was the adopted one in the family. In that moment, I felt singled out, as if the truth in those words was meant to find me. It was February 5th, 1969, when I was brought to my new home in Co. Meath, a day that marked the beginning of my new life. My parents, devout Catholics in their mid-forties, were united and loving, creating a supportive and stable home as I was growing up. Reflecting on the words "the adopted one" brought a sense of being different and not belonging. Despite endless conversations with my mum about my adoption, she had little to contribute beyond a listening ear and an understanding of my thirst for answers. My dad, on the other hand, was the one who looked after the affairs of the house. Old-fashioned, one might say, he had the final word on family matters and held the key document on my adoption. At 18, I remember broaching the subject with him, which, to my aversion, was swiftly dismissed with four words: "Let sleeping dogs lie." A fire within me continues to ignite my pursuit of understanding the wider picture. Rejected in my endeavour, I chose to go it alone. I reached out to Barnardos Ireland, which opened my eyes to the possible trials and tribulations that lay ahead. Stories of rejection, difficult searches, paperwork, legalities and formalities. All of which drove me back to my comfort zone; home. Significant events throughout my life surfaced feelings of emptiness and sadness, particularly during pregnancy. A time that should have been filled with excitement for the birth of my babies was instead met with silent images in my head of my biological mother and what her journey might have entailed while pregnant with me. At 35, I arranged to meet with a social worker about my adoption. My expectations were high, fuelled with hope of finding answers. My birth certificate uncovered truths that I hadn't been prepared for: "Living newborn child found exposed on Ladywell Terrace, Dundalk. Father Unknown. Mother Unknown." Each word felt cold and hollow. Abandoned from birth, I had been found by a lorry driver on the floor of a phone box, wrapped in a green tartan bag, well-dressed, and with a warm bottle, approximately two days old on Tuesday, the 12th of March at 9:30pm in 1968. Swiftly taken to Louth County Hospital, I was given the name Aileen Brenda Marsh and later transferred to St. Joseph's Baby Home (St. Clare's Convent, Stamullen, Co. Meath), where my journey truly began. For most people, identity is a given, but for many like me, it has been a complete mystery. On my 44th birthday in 2012, I went on national radio, Liveline with Joe Duffy. Within seconds, I was on air, connecting with the people who found me after I was left in the phone box. Sergeant Michael Conneally left listeners enthralled with his heartfelt words, and Donal Boyle, the lorry driver, spoke of his experience that night. After all the excitementsurrounding these events, a waiting period passed, and any hope was lost for the one person who held all the answers to come forward. As the years went by, the chances of finding information grew increasingly remote. DNA testing became my last resort, a gift I received on my 50th birthday. I describe it today as the "gift that keeps on giving." In July 2019, I received an unexpected call from a social worker in the UK enquiring about my background in relation to the DNA test. As the conversation unfolded, I tried hard to absorb the words without imploding with hysteria and disbelief: "We have found your brother, a full sibling." I finally got to meet David in person on ITV's Long Lost Family show, Born Without Trace. A moment to remember, an experience beyond words, a true miracle. Both David and I are foundlings, and for the first time in my life, my identity and sense of belonging became common ground with the one person I now call my brother. Over the following weeks and months, information came to light about our biological parents and 14 half-siblings. It brought closure to part of my journey while opening a new and exciting world of unexpected twists. Years ago, I stumbled upon a story in Drogheda that seemed so similar to mine. Who would have thought it would turn out to be another full sibling, my brother John. Credit goes to my beautiful niece, John's daughter Donna, who saw the Long Lost Family show and acted on her intuition. One became three, and the unique connection between us as siblings and family continues to grow. A fire within me continues to ignite my pursuit of understanding the wider picture. This journey brings its difficulties. Establishing family relationships has been a gradual process of patience and mutual trust. It has opened my eyes to the remnants of traditions, pride, and unspoken history that are still very much alive. An amazing opportunity presented itself when I was contacted by RTÉ. I saw it as a valuable opportunity to explore my journey further as I felt I had a lot more questions after taking part in Long Lost Family. Did anyone remember our biological parents? And could they give us an insight into their lives, their love story, their individual personalities and characteristics. These stories would have remained untold had we not taken part in the documentary. I wholeheartedly embraced the experience, which has been healing, enlightening, and truly rewarding.
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Phone Box Babies TV review: Revelations galore in shocking story of abandoned siblings
It was the common sense and gentleness of the three babies concerned – now in their 50s and 60s – that managed to pull the audience through. Also, Phone Box Babies is an RTÉ programme built on other programmes. First of all, the British programme Long Lost Family, hosted by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell. We have all sobbed our way through Long Lost Family at one time or another, but never, probably, was the long-lost family so large. Here were three siblings who ended up looking for each other as well as looking for their parents. Long Lost Family has an off-shoot, Born Without Trace – surely the saddest title of all time – which concerns itself with babies who were physically abandoned by their parents. In a previous episode of Born Without Trace, it seemed that a significant proportion of the babies abandoned in the UK in the 1960s had been born to Irish parents. But David, John and Helen were not abandoned in Britain, they were abandoned in Belfast, Drogheda and Dundalk. In tartan shopping bags. On cold nights. They were carefully dressed and in good health and only a couple of days old. And all three were found by decent people. In January 1962, David had been found by a doctor's wife on the outskirts of Belfast after he had been left in her car outside her house. She discovered him when she went out to the car to bring in her shopping. In March 1968, Helen was found by a lorry driver, Donal Boyle, in a phone box in Dundalk. Donal was coming down from Belfast and he stopped in Dundalk on a very cold night for something to eat, and then remembered that he had to phone his landlady to ask her to leave a key out for him. As he went into the phone box, someone was leaving it, and that person got into a waiting car. It was John's daughter Donna who saw David and Helen on Long Lost Family and saw that 'David's hands were identical to my father's. I thought John's the middle child here. And he was' It was fascinating to see how emotional the finders of these babies – random strangers, after all – were about the children they had stumbled upon. Helen was reunited with Donal Boyle through Joe Duffy's Liveline, and in 2013 they met. Donal described it as one of the highlights, if not the highlight, of his life. In May 1965, Paul Murphy, a young reporter with the Evening Press, had found John in a phone box in Drogheda. Paul went to visit the baby in hospital – and also to write a piece about it for the Evening Press, which was accompanied by a great photograph. After that, Paul said sadly, the baby disappeared. He never knew what had happened to him. 'Then, in 2013, the baby turned up,' he said. Paul had been thinking about John over the years: 'Like a father, like a brother.' When they met they embraced. All three babies were adopted into loving families and each one was told that they had been adopted. 'I actually think that she made the right decision,' says David of his mother. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 'They would have called me a bastard,' says John in a separate interview; and who can say that he's mistaken in that? It was quite chilling to see the siblings' adult relief at having escaped the Magdalene homes. It was David and Helen who were united by the Long Lost Family team – John was a later addition, only joining them when his daughter Donna, who had emigrated to Australia, saw David and Helen on Long Lost Family and saw that 'David's hands were identical to my father's…. I thought, 'John is the middle child here. And he was'.' Meanwhile, Davina McCall was telling David and Helen who their biological parents were. Billy Watson, a Protestant living in Dublin. And Marcella Somers, a Catholic from Kerry, who worked then in Dublin. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Billy was married – and had 14 children. Talk about a bombshell. One of Billy's nine surviving children from his marriage, William Watson, was happy to meet them. What a lovely man William turned out to be. His wife Breege looked supportive without saying a word – I sometimes think that wives and husbands aren't given enough credit as these explosive family stories detonate into their lives. Anyway, William explained that their father, Billy, had a band that played in Clerys, as well as around the country. He left the domestic duties to his wife. Marcella emerged as a dynamic woman, who was a great friend of the much more conservative Rosie Doherty, the mother of the snooker champion Ken Doherty. Ken remembered Marcella well, from the time she had lived in retirement accommodation in his home place of Ranelagh, Dublin. Marcella was musical, and played the accordion. In old age, Marcella had a doll, which she kept in her room and which she dressed carefully. Marcella died in Kerry in 2017, before her newly discovered children could reach her. David, John and Helen laid flowers on her grave. They don't think that they are the only children of Billy and Marcella to have been abandoned. There is talk of a fourth child, found in a phone box in Newry in 1963.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
ITV News at Ten presenter Sandy Gall dies aged 97
Journalist Sandy Gall has been praised as a "giant and a gentleman" after his death at the age of 97. His journalism career spanned more than 50 years. He was a renowned foreign correspondent for ITN and the face of ITV's News at Ten from 1963 until 1992. His family revealed that he died at his home in Kent on Sunday. "His was a great life, generously and courageously lived," they said. Gall covered major events such as the assassination of US President John F Kennedy, the civil rights movement, and the Lockerbie disaster, after entering journalism as a reporter for the Aberdeen Press and Journal in 1952. Tom Bradby, lead anchor of News at Ten, said: "He had, as a foreign correspondent, been there and done everything. "As a trainee walking through the doors of ITN 35 years ago, I was one of many young would-be reporters he inspired. "His old-world charm and on-screen presence endeared him to so many viewers and so many of us. "He was a giant and a gentleman of our business. Everyone loved Sandy." Trevor McDonald, former News at Ten presenter, said: "I think Sandy Gall was one of the most brilliant journalists out there. "And, around his work, ITN was able to build an enormous reputation. "He travelled the world, he covered wars, he covered political upheavals, and what he said, people believed. "He gave ITN and News at Ten its credibility. When Sandy Gall said something, everyone believed it." During his time as a foreign correspondent, Gall covered the arrival of the US into the Vietnam War in 1965, and the end of the conflict when the North Vietnamese army entered Saigon in 1975. Despite becoming a news presenter in 1970, he continued to report first-hand, spending weeks travelling on horseback to follow the Mujahideen in their guerilla war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. After his retirement in 1992, he founded and became chairman of Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal, a charity for disabled Afghans that helped war-related casualties, as well as children in refugee camps, for nearly 40 years.
