Magdalene Laundries

Magdalene memories: Institutional victims deserve justice as much as a memorial

Campaigners have asked that the former Magdalene laundry on Sean McDermott city in Dublin’s north inner city be turned into a ‘site of conscience’ that will address both past events and their contemporary legacies

The Sean McDermott Street laundry in Dublin’s north inner city, run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity and closed in 1996. Picture: PA

When the last Magdalene laundry in Ireland closed in 1996, it seemed to mark the end of a dark chapter in this country’s past. The Sean McDermott Street laundry in Dublin’s north inner city, run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, was one of the largest operations in an institutional network that subjected thousands of women to forced labour as well as mental and physical abuse. Some 40 residents were still there by ...