A WOMAN WHO was abandoned in a cardboard box when she was just five days old is making an appeal to find her Irish parents.

Elizabeth Rylands was found on a doorstep on Grafton St in Manchester in 1958.

The area was known as ‘Little Ireland’ as it was popular with Irish people who stayed in the hotels and guesthouses in the area.

As a result Rylands always suspected her parents might be Irish – and a recent DNA test revealed her ethnicity was 86% Irish.

Speaking to Martin Logan, the presenter of Irish TV’s ‘Out & About in Manchester’ programme, Rylands said:

I was abandoned in a cardboard box on a cold night in March…that’s my identity really.

Social services revealed that she wrapped in oil skin and a warm blanket to keep her warm so Rylands says she knows her mother did care about her and wanted her to be safe and warm.

The 57-year-old said her Mum told her she was adopted when she was very young. When asked how she would feel to met her birth mother, Rylands said:

It would be unbelievable, it’s something I don’t even allow myself to think about if I’m honest.

“There’s also a birth father out there somewhere, it would be great to meet him too.”

When asked if she had a message for her birth mother, Rylands said:

“I just hope you’ve had a good life and that you don’t feel guilty because I think at that time it was a very brave thing to do.”

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