Joanne Hayes, the woman at the centre of the Kerry babies controversy in the 1980s, has written to ask film-makers not to go ahead with their projects on the subject.
Patrick Mann, Ms Hayes's long-time solicitor in Tralee, confirmed at the weekend that his client had asked him to forward her "earnest request" to those planning to make the feature films dealing with the events in 1984 not to proceed.
Two dead newborn babies were found in Kerry in April 1984. The first was that of a baby boy with stab wounds and was discovered on White Strand in Cahersiveen. Two weeks later, the body of another baby boy was uncovered on the farm of Joanne Hayes of Abbeydorney, dozens of miles from the first baby.
Gardaí at first suspected the Cahersiveen baby belonged to Ms Hayes. However, charges against Ms Hayes were dropped after it emerged that the blood group of the Cahersiveen baby was different to those of Ms Hayes, and the man she was having an affair with, and the other baby.
A tribunal was set up to examine the handling of the case by gardaí.
The identity of the Cahersiveen baby, known as "the Kerry baby", has never been established.
Mr Mann said Ms Hayes was "very distressed" at the idea of reopening the events of that time. She had handed Mr Mann a letter that contained a "very plaintive request" not to proceed with the films, he said.
This was not out of a selfish motive, but out of concern for her relatives and friends and her daughter, who is now living in Britain.
The idea of the subject coming back into the public eye was very distressing for the Hayes family, he added.
"The family would honestly beg and implore them [ the film-makers] not to do it," Mr Mann said.
Ms Hayes had read about the plans for a film in a Sunday newspaper last week, and of proposals for a second film in The Irish Times on Thursday, he said.
Both projects have received development funding from the Irish Film Board.
One of those involved, actor and writer Mannix Flynn, said he has spent 10 years researching the story through the sworn testimony given at the tribunal. He said this week on local radio that he would give "serious consideration" to any request from the Hayes family.