The mother of the baby found abandoned in Dublin last Saturday came forward early yesterday and has been reunited with her son.
A Garda spokeswoman said the mother made contact with the authorities in the early hours of yesterday morning. She said gardaí at Kevin Street station were investigating the case, but were handling it with extreme sensitivity and caution.
While she could not comment on a specific case, the spokeswoman said criminal charges were seldom brought in cases such as these. The authorities are not releasing any personal details about the mother to protect her privacy. The care of the mother and baby is now being co-ordinated by the South Western Area Health Board.
A passer-by discovered the baby wrapped in tinfoil and placed in a bag at a bus stop on Lower Clanbrassil Street on Saturday afternoon. He was less than 24-hours old. The baby was taken to the Coombe Women's Hospital and gardaí encouraged the mother to come forward. However, it wasn't until a fresh appeal was made by the hospital on Monday that the mother identified herself.
Mothers are generally reunited with their babies in cases such as these. However, the mother of the recently abandoned baby, in Cork, still has not come forward. Baby Sophia was abandoned on the grounds of South Infirmary Hospital on October 13th and is now nearly five-months-old.
Gardaí released closed-circuit TV footage which showed a woman entering the car-park with the bag on her shoulder and leaving without it. However, the woman was never identified. Sophia is now in foster care, according to the Southern Health Board.
