My guilt at being part of the cold system that hurt ‘Miss D’
Orla O’Donnell tells the human story behind landmark case
AS A seasoned court reporter, RTÉ’s Orla O’Donnell has witnessed some of the most harrowing news stories of recent times.
But it was the infamous Miss D case that finally prompted her to write a book and tell the human story behind the legalese.
Amy Dunne was the young woman at the centre of the 2007 case, a 17year-old who found herself pregnant with a baby who had anencephaly – a ‘lethal abnormality’ that meant the little girl was certain to die at birth.
Known as Miss D, Ms Dunne fought successfully for her right to travel for an abortion at a time when the procedure was illegal here. The case had arisen because she was temporarily in care at the time she was pregnant and told her social worker of her situation. He
‘As journalists we look for the reaction’
decided to bring a case to court to prevent her from going to Britain for a termination.
Ms O’Donnell told the Irish Mail on Sunday this week: ‘For me, it has given me a whole new understanding of what lies behind a case, what lies behind the facts.
‘I remember thinking, “God, I wonder what happened to that girl?” I had heard something at the time... about how distressing the coverage was for her.
‘Here was this young, 17-year-old girl. She was in this horrendous situation without any court even being involved. Then to end up in the High Court. She hardly knew what was happening.
‘Then to turn on the news and see the details of your life, but the absolute worst part of your life in terms of the issues with her mother and all that, to be suddenly broadcast all over the national news.’
Ms O’Donnell said Ms Dunne’s life became a national drama.
‘She describes how one of the days she [Ms Dunne] couldn’t get a seat in court. The courts were packed. There she was, pregnant and at the centre of this drama, and she couldn’t get a seat to sit down.
‘One of the reasons she didn’t want to come to court for the final decision was because she felt the scrutiny. She didn’t want people watching her for her reaction. But that is what we do as journalists, and as people – we look for the reaction. It is important that justice is administered in public but that doesn’t make it easier for the people at the centre of it.’
Years on from the landmark case, Ms O’Donnell felt compelled to contact Ms
Dunne and that initial email resulted in the pair collaborating on the newly released book .
‘I remember hearing that and it made me more conscious of the news and that we, as reporters, have to be more conscious. Even though you’re only reporting and doing your job, you have to be more conscious of the person behind this. Even though it was a big constitutional right to travel, or nominally it was about abortion, but at the end of it there was this person in the background.
‘In 2018 the BBC ran this online piece about her and I thought “I must say it to her” so I contacted her through email and said, “Look I know you were upset by the coverage and I just wanted to say I’m sorry and it’s something I now think about in our coverage.” Then she got back to me.
‘I was doing this documentary series for TG4 called Finné. It was about people’s stories, and I thought she might like the opportunity to tell her story in full. So, I got in touch with her and she agreed to do it and I have been in contact with her since then.’
While Ms O’Donnell says Ms Dunne’s story proved something of a watershed moment for her personally, she is also adamant that court reporting should strive to be objective even though the suffering can be unimaginable.
‘In court coverage you have to report what is said in court. But I think what really upset her more was… the fact her whole life was opened up. She felt the HSE were painting a worse picture of her in her relationship than was the case.
‘Judge Liam McKechnie, when he delivered his judgment, he was so sensitive and I know Amy and her mother were so grateful to him for the way he put it.
‘A lot of these cases around women’s issues and education… end up being decided in courts in Ireland. While they may have implications for lots of people, there is a person behind every landmark case.
‘That’s something as you get older or more experienced, you do think more about. I’m not sure how much you could do differently but you do think it’s not just a case. It’s not just a legal argument. There is a person there at the heart of it.’
‘There is a person behind every landmark case’