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;

There are so many aspects to my book, A Magdalene Rose. It is a story that is rich in people and places, all with a story to tell.

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.

Many Irish Americans have heard about the Magdalene Laundries, but few understand the full scope of what these institutions represented. Established through cooperation between the Irish Catholic Church and the emerging Irish State, these laundries were places where women, often labeled as "fallen," were confined and forced into labor.