STORY 5

My granny was watching RTÉ News one evening when I popped up on screen. I had been at the March for Choice in Dublin. I had never discussed my pro-choice activism with my granny. She has always been religious and I assumed she would take the side of the local parish priest.

I received a text from my granny that read: "You looked very well on the news Lor. Well said. We understand you. We love you and we are so proud of you". I burst into tears. That text was so important to me and I felt overwhelmed with the support.

Thinking back, however, my granny has always emphasised the importance of telling women's stories something that has always stayed with me. We often swap books and a few years ago she gave me a book 'The Lost Child of Philomena Lee', it was from this book that I decided to do a Masters in History and focus on the history of adoption in Ireland.

I'm now in my second year of the PhD looking at the emigration of Irish unmarried mothers to Britain from 1926 to '67. She has been an inspiration to me.

Grandparents offer a special support like no one else in the family and are likewise, deeply affected by the Eighth Amendment. I am very lucky to have a granny who is so understanding and supportive.

Lorraine Grimes