FAQ

Partly because the Irish Free State/Republic of Ireland was arguably the most devoutly and uniformly Catholic country in the world. The Catholic church was given official special powers by the government with the Protestant minority reduced to only 3% by discrimination and mass murder during the "Revolutionary Period" of 1916-23. There was also the issue of partition, after struggling for so long to obtain independence from Britain Irish Nationalists were reluctant to admit the failings of their country which would justify Irish Unionists' insistence of a separate Northern Ireland.

Philomena is based on the book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and a Fifty Year Search", written by journalist Martin Sixsmith, about the true story of Philomena Lee, an Irish woman who looks for her son, who was given into adoption 50 years ago. Philomena got pregnant at age 18 and was then sent to the Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea, a place for unwed mothers. There her son was given into adoption at age 3, although Philomena was never told. She was forced into signing the adoption papers.