In a religious culture rooted in shame, up to half a million children in the UK and Ireland were put up for adoption without their mothers’ consent.
Articles on Magdalene Laundries
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The trauma these women endured is unimaginable.
There is a slight tendency in the film to conflate the laundries with mother and baby homes.
The film explores how much easier is it to conform to social norms than step outside them.
Set in the fictional town of Kilkinure in western Ireland, the BBC drama captures the story of an unmarried mother who was formerly detained in a Magdalene Laundry.
The conservative Catholic moral code that underpinned adoption in Ireland penalised vulnerable women and their children. Now a proposed new law seeks to redress the impact of this legacy of shame.
Most of those incarcerated in mid-20th century Ireland were held in psychiatric hospitals, which have kept their secrets until today. This must change.
Proper horror should be more than just monsters and suspense.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in Criminology, University of Sheffield
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Fellow Emeritus in Film Studies, Trinity College Dublin
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Vice-Chancellor Illuminate Fellow, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast
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Professor in Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin
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Associate Professor of Health History, Glasgow Caledonian University
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Lecturer in Film Studies, Queen's University Belfast
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Professor of Contemporary Irish History, Trinity College Dublin
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Professor of Criminology, University College Dublin