While looking through the Irish Catholic parish registers, I found this entry:
1835 Parish Register, Ferns, Wexford
Baptized November 10, 1835, Parish of Ferns, Diocese of Ferns, County Wexford, Ireland
Child: Mary
Parents: Strangers
Sponsors: M Fitzharris
Note in right column: Found on the roadside near big tree
You can see it for yourself here: Mary, baptism, Ferns, Wexford.
Was she adopted? Did she grow up? What did she turn out to be? Did she ever wonder who her biological parents were? Or did she even know?
And I wonder if the strangers on the road ever looked back and asked themselves what became of their baby girl.
Credits
The image of the baptism record from Ferns Parish, Ferns Diocese, Wexford, is used courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.