Son of Tuam survivor 'so happy' after raising 71,000 euros to buy her home

A MAN who was reunited with his birth mother, a survivor of one of Ireland's most notorious mother and baby homes, has raised more than 70,000 euro to buy her home.

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Patrick Naughton, 70, from Ealing, west London, was taken from his mother, Christina "Chrissie" Tully, from the Tuam mother and baby home in Co Galway in 1954, just weeks after she gave birth to him aged 24.

Mr Naughton, who moved to the UK with his adoptive parents aged 13, was reunited with Ms Tully, now 93, in 2013.

In a bid to help his birth mother, whom he said "never had anything in her life", Mr Naughton set up a fundraiser to help her buy her council home, which was valued at 50,000 euro (£42,000).

Last week Ms Tully's story was picked up by the New York Times and since then their fundraiser has reached more than 71,000 euro (£59,000), hitting their target.

"Chrissie is stunned - the penny hasn't dropped yet," Mr Naughton told the PA news agency.

"She never believed it would happen in her lifetime.

"I just can't thank everybody enough. It means the world and the earth to both of us.