The High Court has ordered further State searches for records in a case brought by Aloysius Clarke, who alleges that he was unlawfully placed for adoption as an infant using falsified birth records.
Clarke is suing the former adoption society Saint Patrick's Guild, now in liquidation, together with Ireland, the Attorney General, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and KL, who is sued in a representative capacity connected with the Religious Sisters of Charity.
The ruling does not decide whether Clarke was illegally adopted or whether any defendant is liable. It concerns discovery — the pre-trial process requiring parties to disclose relevant documents.
An initial discovery order was made in January 2024. State bodies including Tusla, the Adoption Authority, and several government departments later produced records. KL then sought further and better discovery, arguing that important documents appeared to be missing.
Most disputed categories were resolved by agreement before the hearing. The remaining issue concerned documents relating to the prosecution of a named person associated with an identified nursing home and alleged illegal adoptions.
Mr Justice Rory Mulcahy found reasonable grounds to believe further material may exist or once have existed. Although a Garda prosecution file is accepted to have been lost, the court held that this should be formally recorded in discovery evidence.
The Department of Foreign Affairs must also conduct searches because material already disclosed indicated that its predecessor, the Department of External Affairs, may have been involved in enquiries. The court further directed attention to possible Dublin Health Authority records, now potentially held by the HSE, and unexplained gaps in Tusla-held nursing home admission and discharge records.
The judge noted that much of the discovery dispute arose because the State's knowledge of alleged illegal adoption practices had been placed in issue. He also observed that if the State formally accepts general historical awareness of such practices while disputing knowledge of individual cases, the parties may be able to narrow future searches.
Final orders on the application were listed for July 16, 2025.