My Substack Posts

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.

Those who have been following my blog, or through the social networks, will have been witness to all that I have written about my book, 'A Magdalene Rose', since May of this year.

Both before and after I published 'A Magdalene Rose', I have been talking about the failure of four people's Human Rights and their Rights contained within the Irish Constitution.

It's been a roller-coaster year, for all the right reasons! At the beginning of 2025, I was in the final throes of completing the development and copy edits of 'A Magdalene Rose' and finalising the design of the book and its front cover and dust-jacket.

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.

Frank Brehany, the Author of ‘A Magdalene Rose’, is pleased to announce that his book will be published in the eBook format on Monday 10 November 2025.

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.

As you may know, I am the author of A Magdalene Rose. It’s a book that draws on secrets and promises and the family experiences within Ireland’s Magdalene enterprise.

In the last 2 weeks I’ve been contacted by people I have gotten to know across the West of Ireland. They were outraged by two things....

Frank Brehany has cautiously welcomed the press release from the Irish religious order of ‘Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd’ on the 5 September 2025. In providing his cautious welcome, Frank is mindful that since 2019, he is still waiting for a full disclosure as to the facts of his grandmother’s life and death from within the High Park Magdalen Laundry.

Frank Brehany recently embarked on a series of book launches in the Republic of Ireland.....