Philomena: Thousands of mums yet to receive justice
The film, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, recounts the true story of Philomena Lee’s search for the son she was forced to put up for adoption through the Seán Ross Abbey mother and baby home in 1952, when she was aged 19.
Speaking at the Golden Globes Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Ms Lee said her story was “a shared story” with thousands of natural mothers in Ireland.
“The film isn’t just about me. It’s the shared story about the women who have yet to receive the justice they deserve,” she said.
Susan Lohan of the Adoption Rights Alliance said the “outrage and disbelief” of film audiences around the world was in contrast to that of the Government here who refuse to investigate the issue of forced and illegal adoption in Ireland.
“The outrage and disbelief of international film audiences is in stark contrast to the cabal of domestic politicians, particularly Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald, Justice Minister Alan Shatter and junior health minister Kathleen Lynch, who daily construct new reasons why this government will neither investigate nor even acknowledge the grave breach of human rights that the State’s forced adoption policies led to.”
Ms Lohan said the State was determined to “brazen out international embarrassment” in the hope that the issue will go away or that the victims of forced or illegal adoption will die.
Speaking in the Dáil in December, Ms Fitzgerald claimed all adoptions carried out by the State since legal adoption was introduced in 1952 were carried out in line with the law.
