About UnBaptized
In the late 1960's, Brigid, a devout Catholic, lives on Dursey, an isolated Island in Southwest County Cork, Ireland with her husband Frank and her father-in-law John. As a small rural island, Dursey has only a few residents, most of them farmers and fishermen. The single Village has one main street with a few shops, a petrol station that's near the cable car depot, a Post Office, a pub, and a Catholic Church and its consecrated cemetery. Other than by boat, the only way on and off the Island is by Ireland's only cable car system. And that often closes due to terrifying gales and thunderstorms, as well as necessary maintenance.
Almost nine months pregnant, Brigid relies on Annie, the Island's only nurse, and Father Paul, the parish priest, to assist with her troubled pregnancy. Annie worries that a serious infection that Brigid has picked up on their farm may hurt the unborn infant.
During a thunderstorm, Brigid goes into unexpected labour. Unable to get to the cable car so that Annie can drive her to a Cork City hospital, and with Frank and John accusing her of theft because she has allegedly stolen IR£2,500 in cash that was meant for the Catholic Church, Brigid is locked up in the Post Office. When Annie finds her, she insists that Brigid be released and takes her back to the farmhouse to give birth to the child.
Having been visited by her long-dead mother for the past week, Brigid believes in miracles. But when Frank, John, and the local Bishop witness Brigid giving birth to a stillborn child, the men see a mark on its forehead that they believe was made by Satan. For that reason, the Bishop refuses to bury the 'unholy baby' in the Church cemetery but rather in the local Cillíní - an unsanctified area for stillborn children, thieves, pirates, suicides and those who have been unbaptized by the Church.
Not allowed to find the grave of her dead daughter, Brigid prays for help from her mother. When Annie attempts to help Brigid find the stillborn infant many of the villagers, particularly the Bishop, John and Frank think it's a sin. Both women are put on 'trial' which is a sham to the Irish Court system. Found guilty, Frank first shoots Annie then they hang her to a tree and burn her as a witch. Brigid faces the same fate, but her unborn infant - now a living girl of four - as well as many ghosts of the unborn including their mothers, fathers, and the souls of the crew of a Pirate ship who were betrayed by the Bishop, demand revenge. Brigid also soon discovers that Annie, who has died unjustly, lives again as a ghost to help save her from hanging and fire.
This novel of Magical Realism also sees an assortment of different characters appear and talk to many Good Villagers. These include a hooting Owl named Snowy Owl, a talking Seagull named Gull, a Whispering Full Moon, assorted Angels from Heaven and many more. Sometimes, Gull talks directly to You, the Reader of this novel.
A true-to-life horror tale, UnBaptized is based on the screenplay written by Tom Richards and produced by Liam O'Neill. Compelling and inspired by the many true stories of women suffering humiliation and death at the hands of the Catholic Church, UnBaptized is a tale that must be told so that the practice of the Cillíní never happens again in Ireland or anywhere else in the world.
