Forum Topic

The sadness in the life of Brentford's ex MP.

After the battering that Ann Keen received on this Forum many years ago... about her expenses claims and her Brentford home in Brook Road being occupied by squatters,it was enlightening to read via Google and the Sunday Times today of her suffering in earlier  years."Well we never knew that...how sad"

Jim Lawes ● 1691d5 Comments

The complexity of Philomena's story is definitely more heavily nuanced than the film portrays.  Neither the film nor the book gave me the impression that her son was grateful to the nuns involved.  In a 2009 article for The Guardian, Sixsmith says:"He went back to Roscrea, first in 1977 and again in 1993, to plead with the nuns to tell him how to find his mother. They turned him away."On his return to the US, he plunged into alcohol, drugs and unbridled sexual indulgence. His behaviour brought with it the terrible fear of exposure that would destroy him as a senior Republican official, but he could not stop himself. On one of his lost weekends he became infected with HIV."He and Pete, his long-term partner, agonised over their future. Pete stood by him, but Michael's health began to deteriorate. Fearing the worst, they flew to Roscrea in 1993 to make an emotional appeal to the nuns ... but still they refused to tell him where he could find his mother, or indeed that her sisters and brother – his aunts and uncle – were living just a few miles down the road."In desperation, Mike asked the mother superior if he could at least be buried in the convent if he were to die: he would put enough information on his gravestone to help his mother find out about his life "if ever she comes looking for me". As we know – but Mike did not – Philomena was looking for him, returning to Roscrea, seeking traces of her son ..."https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/19/catholic-church-sold-child?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA%3D%3D#aoh=16225886769286&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Flifeandstyle%2F2009%2Fsep%2F19%2Fcatholic-church-sold-child

Phil Kay ● 1689d

I too have seem both the film and read the book - and I was only speaking in general terms, but many of these institutions continued right up until fairly recently. And although the son carved out a career for himself in American politics - that didn't make it any easier for his mother haivng missed all his life apart from a little while when he was a baby.

Vanessa Smith ● 1690d

I have seen the film Philomena and read the book. The story it had to tell was much more nuanced than what you suggest.Post-war Ireland was a very poor country with little or no welfare state and a unplanned pregnancy of an unmarried woman will often have been financially catastrophic for the rest of her family.  It is easy for us to be judgemental about people's attitude in the past but adoption was basically the only real option in many cases at this time. In the case of Philomena's son he had a glittering career and came back to the place where he spent the first part of his life to thank the nuns for looking after him.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1690d

If you ever watch 'Long Lost Family' or seen the film 'Philomena' - it is apparent that so many people have suffered through this appalling system. A lot of things that were done being the products of the times we lived in. There were also some men who have tried to find their children, but in the long run church organisations mostly, treated these young women with such unspeakable cruelty and coerced them into having their children adopted or just took them.

Vanessa Smith ● 1690d

Both were really nice people, Alan who my Dad knew well was a really nice person,But what Westminster and political life eventually did to them is a shame. Consumed them and was very sad to hear about.

Raymond Havelock ● 1691d