As a
teenager in Ireland, Philomena Lee (right) was banished to a convent for
the ‘sin’ of having a baby out of wedlock, and forced to give him up.
As a major new film about her life is released, she tells Catherine
O’Brien about their heartbreaking search for each other
Philomena
Lee lives in a neat semidetached house on a quiet Home Counties street.
Inside her sitting room are photographs of her children and
grandchildren, and on one wall set slightly apart is a portrait of a
handsome man dressed in a pinstriped suit and tie. As he gazes at the
camera lens, his smile is warm and open. ‘Every day I think, “If only I
could put my arms around him one more time,”’ says Philomena. ‘He looks
to me like the type of chap who would have wanted that.’