In 1963, Paul’s mother Katie, an eighteen-year-old girl from Derry was sent to Marianville Mother & Baby Institution in Belfast when she was 5 months pregnant. Shortly after her first-born baby boy was taken away from her, she was transferred to the St Mary’s home, which is next door to Marianville, where she worked in the laundry without pay. She remained in the Magdalene Laundry for a further 3 months.
Paul was taken away from his mother at 18 days old and was in the care system for 13 months before being boarded out with a view for adoption. Paul was finally adopted when he was 6 ½ years old. Paul’s mother tragically died when she was 29 years old, and sadly had passed away by the time Paul, as a young man in his twenties, had found any information to finally trace her. Katie would only have been 40 and this traumatic discovery has had a life lasting effect on Paul.
Pauls traumatic lived experience and sense of abandonment has never left him, and still to this day he struggles with the trauma of forced separation from his birth mother. In recent years he has become a campaigner and advocate for other affected individuals. He continues, through peer support networks, to work alongside and develop relationships with other victim-survivors, supporting each other on a difficult journey.
He has appeared on the ITV Documentary ‘An Islands Shame’, and has given evidence, alongside other victims-survivors to the executive office scrutiny committee. He continues as a member of the Truth Recovery Consultative Forum working alongside others to ensure implementation of the 77 recommendations contained within the Truth, Acknowledgement and Accountability Report, Oct 2021.
In his professional career Paul has spent 15 years working as a marketing manager for a global drinks company and has spent the last eleven years working for one of the Health & Social Trusts within the HSCNI, where he is a senior manager.