Siblings abandoned as babies and reunited 50 years later believe they may have another brother

The Journal

3 days ago

THREE PEOPLE WHO were abandoned as babies in different parts of Ireland in the 1960s – and later discovered they were siblings – believe there is a fourth sibling and that a new documentary could encourage them to make contact.
The remarkable story, which captured media attention on both sides of the border, will be explored in a new documentary called The Phone Box Babies.
It will air next week, on Wednesday 2 July at 9.35pm, on RTÉ One.
It promises to reveal new insights into the lives of three people who were abandoned as babies and discovered that they were siblings over five decades later.
News clipping about David McBride being found in the front seat of a car in Dunmurry on the outskirts of Belfast in 1962
The three babies were discovered by random passersby in phone boxes, and in a car, without any identifying information.
David McBride, born in 1962, was found in a duffle bag in the front seat of a car in Dunmurry on the outskirts of Belfast.
John Dowling, born in 1965, was found in a Drogheda phone box.
Helen Ward, born in 1968, was discovered in a tartan duffel bag in a Dundalk phone box.
Each was adopted and raised in different parts of Ireland.
But in 2020, David and Helen discovered they were brother and sister through DNA technology and were reunited on the ITV series Long Lost Family, presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell.
And on the other side of the planet in Australia, John Dowling's daughter watched the ITV programme and noticed that her father bore a resemblance to David.
She asked her father to take a DNA test and it revealed that John was another full blood sibling to David and Helen.
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David McBride, born in 1962, holds news clipping about being found in the front seat of a car in Dunmurry on the outskirts of Belfast.
However, the three siblings now believe there is a fourth sibling out there and are hopeful that the new RTÉ documentary will encourage that person to get in touch.
Helen previously told UTV
that she believes the fourth sibling could be a baby boy that was found in a phone box in Newry, Co Down, in May 1963.
'Why not just pick up the phone or email us, even if he just wants to chat about it,' Helen told UTV last year.
'We're all very private people in our own right, we've great respect for each other and that would go exactly for him as well,' she added.
Meanwhile, an RTÉ spokesperson said the documentary follows the siblings 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.
He 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 abandoned.
Speaking ahead of the documentary airing, Helen said it has 'opened up the lines of communication about our biological parents, with people willing to share their stories'.
Helen Ward, born in 1968, holds news clipping about her being discovered in a Dundalk phone box.
RTÉ
RTÉ
She said she hopes the documentary can 'foster understanding and empathy, especially about what it's like to have to question your roots'.
Helen also expressed hope that it can 'encourage people to be open and receptive to helping others with similar experiences'.
'The longing for connection with family is valid and deeply human,' she added.
Both biological parents are now deceased, and an RTÉ spokesperson said the siblings 'confront painful truths about their parents' complex relationship and the impact of this abandonment on their own lives'.
However, they also receive the support of newly discovered half-siblings and family friends, including snooker legend Ken Doherty, in their quest to 'unearth the buried secrets of their family's past'.
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