Shamed into Leaving - The women and children sent back to Ireland

Available for over a year

Maria Cahill is almost seventy – but she feels deep trauma from a journey which happened when she was only six weeks old. Maria was born in the UK – a British citizen – but her mother Philomena was Irish and unmarried. Philomena was one of several thousand women and girls who were repatriated from Britain to Ireland because they were pregnant or had a child outside wedlock. There was a scheme run by state agencies and religious charities from the 1930s until the 1970s. Survivors want an official apology for what they say was forced repatriations. In this episode of our podcast, 5 Minutes On, the BBC's Ireland Correspondent, Chris Page, shares Maria's story. Image Credit: BBC News