Press Release: 'A Magdalene Rose' comes home to the North of Ireland

In the final stage of 'The Journey Home' for four remarkable people, this press release announces the book's formal arrival in Belfast.

Frank Brehany, the Author of ‘A Magdalene Rose’, brings his book to Belfast and the North of Ireland on Friday 7 November 2025. Frank’s arrival in Belfast marks the final stage of his  journey across Ireland to introduce his book to Irish audiences. His book began ‘The Journey Home’ at the Shorelines Arts Festival in Portumna in Co. Galway, followed by Glenamaddy and into the heart of Dublin City. Frank’s visit to Belfast brings not just a generational story but connection to so many who have been affected by Ireland’s Institutional history. It is an essential journey of connection, respect and solidarity to all those affected by this terrible history.

‘A Magdalene Rose’ is the true story of four remarkable people affected by the cruel Magdalen system, effected through the Scaradh or separation of lives and the Institutions that controlled that separation. The book introduces you to Frank’s Father and Mother. A Father separated from his Mother, living the first 5 years of his life in the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, who was then subsequently boarded-out. A Mother who fell in love and married a Tuam boy, making a pact on their wedding day to keep his secret, a secret that had a profound impact on her. We meet a Grandmother and a Grandfather. Both in love but at the time of her pregnancy, they were denied any prospect of marriage. Frank’s Grandfather was initially ostracised and subsequently condemned and publicly shamed by a court following the charge of being a putative Father. His Grandmother began a journey into incarceration, firstly in the Loughrea County Home, then giving birth to her son in Galway Central Hospital and spending the first 10 days of his life together. This was followed by her being transported with her son to the Tuam Mother and Baby Home and a year later, delivered into the infamous High Park Magdalen Laundry in Dublin. She remained there until her death in 1972, but injustice continues.

The lives revealed within ‘A Magdalene Rose’ asks the question: ‘Can our secrets and promises ever be reconciled?’

The book is now available as a hardback book either directly from the author or through bookshops and major retailers. The eBook will be published on Monday 10 November 2025 and will be available through the Author or through all major and online retailers. The paperback edition will be published in the very near future.

Frank Brehany states:

“I have been overwhelmed with the reaction to ‘A Magdalene Rose’ in Ireland and across the world. It has taken me over 14 years of hard research to establish the truth of what happened to these four remarkable people. For decades they remained invisible, but they are invisible no more. The book is just part of the journey I am taking to not only bring Justice to their names, but hopefully Justice to others affected by this terrible injustice. The final chapter is called ‘The Journey Home’ and by coming to Belfast, I do so with respect. Respect for a new found family in the North, but also respect, connection and solidarity with all those affected by similar Institutional issues across the North”.