Some of them never knew their parents Guest: Margo Harkin

Last December, I was on the London Underground when an ad from the Government of Ireland caught my attention: “The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is open for applications.”I assumed it was something like a truth-and-reconciliation effort, reaching out to people abroad who had been harmed in the past. But when I began looking into what these institutions actually were—places where unmarried pregnant women were sent to give birth—I realised the story was far darker and far more complex.Curious, I asked Irish friends, watched Small Things Like These, and then discovered the documentary Stolen. Its director, Margo Harkin, kindly agreed to speak with me—even before I managed to watch the full film, which is available on Amazon Prime (though you may have to dig a bit to find it).In this episode, I ask Margo why she chose to make a film about the mother-and-baby homes; what she learned from survivors; how the experience shaped the lives of the children born there; and how victims view the government’s compensation scheme. Ultimately, our conversation reveals a deeper tension between modern Ireland and the remnants of an older, entrenched social order.