IN the late 1960s a child arrived at Pelletstown mother and baby home in Navan Road, Dublin, on the recommendation of a paediatrician. The child had been placed for adoption but was being "returned". A note said the child's adoptive mother "was reluctant to keep baby... she considers him retarded. Admit to St Patrick's Home".
Two years later the child was declared "of average intelligence and well suited to adoption or boarding". A letter from a Pelletstown medical officer to the Adoption Board said his "initial backwardness was due to environmental conditions".
The final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes documents the shameful treatment of mothers and their children born out of wedlock.