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1961: One of the most shameful chapters in Ireland’s history
The Magdalen Laundries
What you need to know before your trail
Maren Bradigan is just sixteen years old when she is taken under false pretenses from her comfortable life on her family farm. Concerned at the level of intimacy developing between Maren and the boy who helps her father with his farm work, the village priest takes it upon himself to remove her from school and bring her to one of the convent laundries, where he delivers her into the care of the nuns. Now, alongside many other “Magdalens” – named for Mary Magdalen – Maren must spend her days washing dirty linens, symbolically cleansing herself of her sins while repeating endless penance to a God that she soon comes to feel is no longer listening to her. Only the presence of Ceara, a young pregnant girl who befriends her inside the institution, gives Maren strength to continue through abuse, humiliation, beatings and near-starvation.
Travel Guide
Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries
The Magdalene Laundries were also known as Magdalene asylums, run by Roman Catholic orders. They were there to house so called fallen women, and they have been the subject of controversy ever since. The religious orders who ran the institutions were accused of abusing and torturing those they were supposed to be looking after.
The Irish government created a £50 million compensation scheme for survivors and an apology was issued in 2013. In Belfast, the Magdalene Asylum was located on Donegall Pass. Similar institutions were run by Catholics on Ormeau Road and by Presbyterians on Whitehall Parade.
In Dublin in 1993, 133 corpses were found in a mass grave. There was another mass grave at Glasnevin Cemetery.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Magdalen Laundries
Destination :Dublin, Ireland Author/Guide: Lisa Michelle Odgaard Departure Time: 1960s
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