A FRENCH television documentary will tell the story of Tuam mother and baby home survivor John Rodgers and his extraordinary mother who escaped from a Magdalene laundry.
The author, who has published two books detailing his life story and that of his natural mother Bridie Rodgers, has spent much of the past month filming in Co. Galway at the significant spots in his turbulent family history.
He believes the tale is “better than Philomena” and hopes it will one day find a place in Hollywood.
Bridie's son John Rodgers“Although I had been writing it in my head for years, I couldn’t write mine or my mother’s story until she passed away, in respect of her wishes,” said Rodgers, who is now based in Chester.
The 66-year-old, who was born at the Tuam home for unmarried mothers in 1947, was separated from his mother at 13 months old.
He remained at the home until he was adopted by a loving family from Williamstown, Co. Galway, while his mother was sent to a Magdalene laundry, from which she later escaped.
Bridie Rodgers had first arrived in Galway at the age of two, after being picked up off the Dublin streets, charged with begging and sentenced to work at an industrial school in Clifden until the age of 16.
“It was only when I turned 36 that I really set about wanting to get to know my mother,” explained Rodgers, who previously spent many years living in Manchester.
“I had run away from her for years, but I finally found her in Northampton. We had 10 good years together and once I fully understood my mother’s story I was determined to tell it.”
That story For the Love of my Mother became a bestseller in Ireland and courted international attention.
This year, following the revelation of the mass baby grave for 796 children who died at the Tuam baby home which Rodgers survived, the story has resurfaced.
Earlier this month a French television production company arrived in Co. Galway to begin filming for a one hour documentary on John and Bridie Rodgers.
“There is a general appetite for my story in Europe,” he explained, “and there are also agencies in contact who are trying to get this to the right people in Hollywood.
“It’s my dream to see it in Hollywood someday. I even think, and I don’t mean it in any disrespectful way, that my mother’s story is a better story to the film Philomena. It would be a far more powerful and gripping story in the hands of the right filmmaker.”
Rodgers’ latest book Eggshells and Broken Dreams is now available, to purchase or for further information visit www.jprodgers.net
See More: Bridie Rodgers, Magdalene Laundry, Tuam
