Mary Lynch uses production to dispel homosexuality rumours
“Iam no lesbian!” That was one message that Mary Lynch tried to send through the dramatic production of ‘Innocence of Guilt: The Mary Lynch Story’, which premiered at the Jamaica Shopping Club Theatre on Sunday night.
The production saw actress Rosie Murray telling the story of Mary Lynch, who was convicted for the 1992 murder of her husband, Leary Lynch.
No stones were left unturned as stories of the unsanitary conditions at Fort Augusta, where Mary Lynch spent 14 years locked up, were brought to light.
In the play, Lynch, through Murray, recalled that “persons on the outside” would use her name to “scare women straight” about entering prison. Lynch said that she has never engaged in any homosexual activities. Murray, trying to convey all the emotions Lynch must have gone through during the times the rumours were at its peak, expressed hurt at the comments people made regarding her sexuality.
Lynch said she was made out to look like “a lesbian don” who was “sexing off” all the young girls in prison and said this was far from the truth. Lynch said new convicts would enter Fort Augusta terrified of her. She said that had it not been for her remaining headstrong, she perhaps would have been broken by the cruel things people had to say about her.