Mother and Baby Homes

The narrative of social justice and consumer rights in the European Union, the UK and Ireland is punctuated by the determined efforts of individuals who have dedicated their lives to championing fairness and equity.

The history of the Magdalene Laundries is a complex and often painful chapter in Irish social history.

I return to the growing development of the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, or the NCRR, and examine how the failure of non-recurrence has all the potential to fail the very concept of social justice the centre was intended to deliver.

I return to the latest in my series about Ireland’s proposed National Centre for Research & Remembrance or the NCRR. I’ve waited for a longer period than normal between episodes in this series of podcasts, as I have been waiting for a response to my letters from the Minister;

12 Months ago, Frank Brehany’s latest book, ‘A Magdalene Rose’, enjoyed its Global Book Launch in Monmouth in South Wales. The success of that launch was followed by 3 successful launch events in the Republic of Ireland in September 2025.

Once I published 'A Magdalene Rose', I began 'The Journey Home', not just for the book, but to bring an Irish society recognition of those within the book, because for so long, for some 94 years, their names & presence were all invisible.

When I began my journey, some 14 years ago, it was to fulfill a promise; a promise to find the truth.

On this date, 54 years ago, Mary Julia Breheny died within the infamous High Park Magdalene Laundry in Dublin having spent over 40 years in that Institution. Frank Brehany (See Note 1), has today formally launched a bid to bring his draft Bill, also known as “Mary’s Law”, before members of the Oireachtas in the hope that he can secure support or sponsorship for this important initiative.

The question of accountability for those who were made victims and survivors of Ireland's abusive institutional system remains a profoundly complex and morally charged issue.