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Sister Hildegarde McNulty
It was there, under the watchful eye of Sister Hildegarde McNulty, a nun brought to international notoriety in the movie Philomena that the first die was cast on a life filled with sadness ever since. Sister Hildegarde, who arranged the US adoption of Philomena Lee’s birth son as depicted in the 2013 film, also arranged Colleen’s adoption to a couple living in Chicago. Margaret McNulty Anderson, the adoptive mother, was Hildegarde’s niece.
“I lived in Niles (near Chicago) when I was younger, then we moved to as suburb called Park Ridge,” recalls Colleen.
“My adoptive parents had a natural daughter, my older sister, and it was just the four of us.”
“I lived in Niles (near Chicago) when I was younger, then we moved to as suburb called Park Ridge,” recalls Colleen.
“My adoptive parents had a natural daughter, my older sister, and it was just the four of us.”
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While many children fared much better in the US than in 1960s Ireland at the time, Colleen was one of the unlucky ones. For her, the notion of a “better life” on the other side of the pond couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Her adoptive mother – who died in 2003 – had a long history of mental illness, and Colleen says she was often a target of her rage.