Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it clear to the authorities this is an untenable situation. The Catholic Church and the Irish courts decide to put the Doyle children into Church-run orphanages.

• CineEvelyn
• Irish Dreamtime
• Pierce Brosnan
• Aidan Quinn
• Julianna Margulies
• Stephen Rea
• John Lynch
• Sophie Vavasseur
• Alan Bates
• Niall Beagan