She wants to gather support to have meaningful discussions about an apology ??? this sounds like the Peoples front of Judea in action. How much more discussion will this take ? It’s clear as day that these ladies deserve at very minimum a state and church apology , and they need their remaining Years to be made comfortable . Nobody needs ANOTHER debate . We all know the horrific facts.

What a crime, when these innocent victims are still waiting for justice, honestly what is it with this Country, i am sure all this begging for someone to do the right thing must cause more trauma on top of trauma that victims just don’t need how terribly sad…

It’s disgusting how these women were treated & totally shameful that they’ve had no recognition of the wrongs that were inflicted on them. I can’t even begin to understand how at the time people could turn a blind eye to the injustice and the plight……however the Irish government/church/society continue to add to the abuse by not giving these women the closure they deserve. So sad that Ireland can treat its own like this.

I’m always amazed CAB hasn’t been called in to investigate wealth acquired by the church by obvious criminal means such as the slavery in the Magdalen laundries and industrial schools.

It’s not all as you think James, in the industrial schools, where I was incarcerated, there were lots of children who were orphaned or whose Mothers had died and myriad of other reasons other than families voluntary putting children in these institutions?
People like myself – for example – I was adopted and then found to be in need of care and protection and sent to an industrial school for the tender loving care. It was my birthday and within minutes of being within the cloister walls – I was being slapped around the face and having my head banged against a wall and being told if it was the last thing she would do “she would break my spirit”. It was horrific. I was already upset at being taken from the only home I had ever known and the nun’s actions was indefensible. My crime was that I didn’t understand what was being said to me and apparently had answered inappropriately!
The real issue here is that children and vulnerable young women ( in the laundries) were being physically, mentally and emotionally abused, were being raised in a climate of terror – which was not conducive to well being, mental stability or anything that resembled normal life!
Whatever reasons we were incarcerated – it was not our choice – and our vulnerability should not have given our so called guardians carte Blanche licence to abuse!

@tom: it was time to change the tune when these young girls were being abused didn’t happen then won’t happen now !!!

Hi Marie ,
You and all people who have suffered at the hands of the RCC and State will always have my undying support. I wish I could do more . it is extremely important to be vocal about these issues . If we can win the sympathies /support or even enlighten one person through this website through our comments then it is an exercise well spent. I wish you all the best for the future and sincerely hope that justice will be served and those that committed these heinous crimes against you and others are made to pay dearly.

Does anybody know if the 1000 women who died & were buried in unmarked “Laundry” graves have at least been given some kind of memorial grave marking? Or have they been moved to actual grave yards?

In addition to the compensation for illegal incarceration and enslavement the victims should be paid an hourly rate for every hour they spent in those institutions . It should be at the highest overtime rate that the highest paid civil servants in the state are on , backdated and with interest. The RCC should be made to pay every penny. They made a fortune from slave labour. The government have the perfect opportunity to extract the money from the RCC. They should not let them away with making the taxpayer alone foot the bill like the previous government who let them away with paying the absolute minimum. The RCC profiteered from those poor unfortunate women. There must be justice. Please write to your local TD , Minister for justice and demand justice and that the church pays otherwise all compensation will come out of your pocket.

The Redress board was a farce . Paltry sums to buy victims silence. The perpetrators guaranteed impunity and immunity from prosecution. Sinn Fein was surprisingly quiet at the time obviously afraid to stir up anti-catholic sentiment . All slaves who were incarcerated by the RCC and state should be paid millions for their suffering . A memorial should be raised to all those unfortunate girls and women who were enslaved . They should never be forgotten.

The Catholic Church should just go away.

Marie your story is extremely moving and it serves to strengthen my resolve to support all survivors whenever and however I can. You strike me as an articulate and intelligent lady despite what they did to you . I admire your resilience And I wish you the best .

All the political parties have websites were you can submit comments or queries . If you believe that the Church should pay for these crimes please post your comments and queries on their websites. I just did it on the Fine Gael and Labour websites . I basically asked if the church will be made pay and will the perpertrators of the crimes be exposed or will they be guaranteed anonymity like with the Redress scheme for the survivors of abuse in the schools.

If there is compensation it should also given to the descendants of those women who were illegally incarcerated and no longer with us. Just because the victim is deceased should not mean that the church and state should get away with it. There was a crime and there must be justice and retribution.

Tony, I was not aware of any fatalities. However to understand the situation in the school, the overall state of fear and terror we lived in was such that they could have told us anything – how would we have known otherwise.
I myself was locked in a room when inspectors visited and have been deaf all my adult life as a result of blows to the head.
When you were in trouble with the nuns the other girls tended to ostracise you as they knew what would happen if they even looked in your direction.
The psychological and emotional damage done was huge and for myself I still suffer post traumatic stress!
The time spent there overrode and eroded any semblance of normal behaviour and we were hypersensitive to the moods and vagaries of the nuns in charge. Another thing you couldn’t trust anyone in case they told or somehow let anything slip. It is really unimaginable – more like a concentration camp than a school for children!

Yes,we need justice for the women incarcerated in these profit making Magdalene Laundries. I had an exchange with a Good Shepherd sister who told me “we imprisoned nobody”. Total denial of the truth and reality. It’s necessary to hold these people account and for justice to be got for the women and children whose lives were destroyed by sadists.

Time to change the tune.