Children's home at St Joseph's Ennis

[ANNE O'C]

Hi,
My father, Thomas Michael O'Connor (1930 - 2010) believed he was in the Children's Home (he called it the 'poor house') at St Joseph's in Ennis for the first two years of his life until he was fostered by a local family. This would have been 1930-32. He remembers that there was only one other child - an older boy, there with him and he was fostered around the same time. Is there any documented information about children being looked after at St Joseph's and would there still be any records which might help us find out about his birth family and why he was there.
Grateful for any information that might help.
Many thanks,
Anne O'Connor

[Polycarp]

Hi Anne,

This is likely to be the former County Home in Ennis, which later became St Joseph's Hospital. Before it was the County Home, it was the Workhouse for the Union of Ennis.

You should contact AIRR at the Department of Health and Children (if you haven't already) This is the Access to Institutional and Related Records and it is a contact for tracing children who were boarded out of such institutions. It is a Dublin telephone number (01) 6354 190.

The Clare county archives may have Board of Health archives relating to the 1930s. These may be covered under data protection legislation but it would be worth contacting them to see if they have records of children who were boarded out of the former County Home.

Polycarp

[ANNE O'C]

Many thanks! Will follow those up.
Anne