Magdalen Laundry Sculpture In Galway
The statue 'Final Journey' features inscribed poetry by playwright and poet Patricia Burke Brogan, who is internationally known for her award-winning play “Eclipsed” about the Magdalen Women.
The Magdalene sculpture is located on the corner of Forster St and Bothar Breandan O Eithir, close to the former Magdalene Laundry.
The sculpture was erected on International Women's Day in March 2009 last year close to the former Magdalene Laundry in Galway city centre.
The Magdalen laundry in Galway was founded Mrs Lynch in 1824 and was operated by a lay society known as the Association of Ladies of the Saint Magdalene Society. Following the death of Mrs Lynch’s in 1854, the Sisters of Mercy took over the operation of the institution.
The original Magdalen Asylum was located in Lombard Street but was was abandoned in 1870 and with the aid of a large legacy relocated to Forster Street. The laundry closed in 1984 and the buildings that housed the laundry were demolished in 1991.
The Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, also known as Magdalene asylums, were institutions of confinement, usually run by Roman Catholic orders, which operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. They were run ostensibly to house "fallen women", an estimated 30,000 of whom were confined in these institutions in Ireland. In 1993, a mass grave containing the remains of 155 bodies was uncovered in the convent grounds of one of the laundries. This led to media revelations about the operations of the secretive institutions. A formal state apology was issued in 2013, and a £50 million compensation scheme for survivors was set up.
The Magdalene sculpture is located on the corner of Forster St and Bothar Breandan O Eithir, close to the former Magdalene Laundry.
The sculpture was erected on International Women's Day in March 2009 last year close to the former Magdalene Laundry in Galway city centre.
The Magdalen laundry in Galway was founded Mrs Lynch in 1824 and was operated by a lay society known as the Association of Ladies of the Saint Magdalene Society. Following the death of Mrs Lynch’s in 1854, the Sisters of Mercy took over the operation of the institution.
The original Magdalen Asylum was located in Lombard Street but was was abandoned in 1870 and with the aid of a large legacy relocated to Forster Street. The laundry closed in 1984 and the buildings that housed the laundry were demolished in 1991.
The Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, also known as Magdalene asylums, were institutions of confinement, usually run by Roman Catholic orders, which operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. They were run ostensibly to house "fallen women", an estimated 30,000 of whom were confined in these institutions in Ireland. In 1993, a mass grave containing the remains of 155 bodies was uncovered in the convent grounds of one of the laundries. This led to media revelations about the operations of the secretive institutions. A formal state apology was issued in 2013, and a £50 million compensation scheme for survivors was set up.
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