Catholic orphans and foundlings in South Dublin before and shortly after Rathdown Workhouse opened

My ancestor Mary Chambers was born circa 1835. We have so far been unable to find a record of her birth or baptism.

We found out via Colonial Secretary correspondence that she was sent from Rathdown Union Workhouse to Australia as part of the Earl Grey Scheme 16.2.1850. There is no record of Mary in Rathdown admission registers but that is probably because Admission book 2 covering the periods 17.12.1845 - 29.11.1847 is missing. We have to assume that she was admitted between those dates.

Information on the shipping records (which would have been provided by the Workhouse staff) did not list Mary's parents' names and we have to assume that she and/or the workhouse did not know who they were. Family historians have suggested that Mary might have been a foundling.

As Mary would have entered Rathdown Workhouse between the ages of approx. 10-12 years, she must have been residing somewhere else beforehand, such as a Catholic orphanage perhaps. As she didn't know her parents' names, we have to assume that they either died when she was young or that she was a foundling. We also assume that she was raised in some kind of institution, possibly from birth. Information about Mary from the shipping records indicated that she could read (but not write) and her vocation was nursemaid.

Our family are requesting any information on institutions or orphanages that would have cared for Catholic orphans in the vicinity of Rathdown and who then transferred their inmates to Rathdown late 1845 onwards. If any of those institutions kept records, our family might learn something about Mary's life before emigrating to Australia.

Thanks for any suggestions on avenues where we might search for records of Mary prior to her entering the workhouse.

Kind regards, Karina