Throughout the 20th century, thousands of Irish women who found themselves pregnant outside of marriage were coerced into giving their babies up for adoption. Women were abandoned by the society that should have protected them, and their children were secretly punished under harsh Catholic rule, largely adopted out of the country, their legal identity concealed.

“Only Child makes an excellent companion piece to many of the Irish docs we’ve seen on the Church & State’s Mother and Baby Homes.” — WF

Amidst countless tragic stories, this film follows one such child on a hopeful path of discovery. As an adult adoptee, Dubliner Marise Keane decides to embark on a search for her birth mother. With only a name and place of birth in hand, Marise navigated a winding path of roadblocks and dead ends until she reluctantly put the search to rest. After emotionally recovering from previous disappointments, she traced a distant cousin, leading to a cup of coffee that would change her life forever.

World Premiere

Followed by Q&A with Marise Keane, director Andy Ames, producer Natalie Novak Remplakowski.

Director: Andy Ames
Producer: Natalie Novak Remplakowski