Michael Anthony Hess (born Anthony Lee; July 5, 1952 – August 15, 1995) was an Irish-born American lawyer, deputy chief legal counsel and later chief legal counsel to the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

(RNC) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was born Anthony Lee to

Philomena Lee Annie Philomena Lee (born 24 March 1933) is an Irish woman whose life was chronicled in the 2009 book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee'' by Martin Sixsmith. The book was made into a film titled '' Philomena'' (2013), which was nominated for f ...

in Ireland, and spent his first years of life in a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

before being

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

by Marge and Doc Hess of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, US. The issues surrounding his adoption are controversial, as part of a program of

forced adoption Forced adoption refers to the practice of removing children from their biological families and placing them for adoption against the wishes of the parents, often with little or no consent. This practice has historically been a significant issue in v ...

s practised by some

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

religious orders in Ireland at the time, and the story of that early part of his life was later told in British journalist Martin Sixsmith's book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee'' and in the film ''

Philomena Philomena ( ), also known as Saint Philomena (; ) or Philomena of Rome ( 10 January 291 10 August 304) was a virgin (title)#Virgin martyrs, virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three ti ...

''.

Personal life

Hess's birth mother

became pregnant at age 18 at a local carnival by a man named John who worked for the post office. She was disowned by her father and sent to

Sean Ross Abbey Sean Ross Abbey south of Roscrea in County Tipperary, Ireland, is a convent and the location of St Anne's Special School run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. St Crónán is believed to have founded a monastery at this loca ...

, a mother and baby home for unwed mothers, which was operated by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2022 it had a population of 5,542. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Crónán of Roscrea, Saint Crónán of Roscrea, p ...

, County Tipperary, Ireland. After she gave birth to Hess, she was able to be with her child until she was 22 and he was three while living in the abbey. As was common practice in Ireland at the time, the nuns sold him to the American couple, Ardo Michael "Doc" Hess and Marjorie "Marge" Lane. Lee did not know where her son was sent by the nuns after she left the Abbey after being pressured into signing the adoption papers. Hess grew up in the American Midwest and was raised in a Catholic family. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1974 and earned a J.D. degree at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. Hess made three visits to Ireland to try to find his mother but was unsuccessful in persuading the nuns to divulge any information. He requested that his ashes be buried at Roscrea in the hope that his mother would be able to find his grave, which she eventually did. Hess never learned who his mother was. He died from complications of AIDS, although this was not mentioned at the memorial service held for him. Hess' partner for the last 15 years of his life was Steve Dahllof. Dahllof credited the book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee'' with "about a three out of 10, in terms of accuracy", while the movie ''Philomena'', "in accuracy of spirit, is 10 out of 10."

Career

Hess became deputy chief legal counsel to the

, eventually rising to chief legal counsel. He was an important figure in the

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

battles of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was admired for his integrity and pursuit of justice on the critical issue of

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

Controversy

The programme of

s by some ecclesiastical authorities in Ireland and elsewhere during the 1950s has raised considerable debate, and the Michael Hess case has further highlighted this. Much of the paperwork relating to this programme was later destroyed and access to adoption archives has been cut off.

Film

A film portraying Hess' adoption and his mother's later search for him was released in 2013. ''Philomena'', directed by

Stephen Frears Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...

and based on the book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee'', starred

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

as his mother, Sean Mahon as Hess, and

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

as Martin Sixsmith, the journalist who helped Philomena Lee identify her son.

References

External links