James M. Smith
Associate Professor
English Department & Irish Studies Program
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
USA
Dispatching the Magdalene Laundries and Bethany Home “under the sod.”
The government reiterated last week that there is no plan to extend the residential institutions redress scheme to survivors of the Magdalene laundries or the Bethany Home. Ministers Dermot Ahern and Sean Haughey contend that the State is not culpable for the abuses that took place in these institutions. This despite the fact that the Departments of Justice, Education, Health, Defence, Finance and Social Welfare, as well as the Judiciary, were complicit in referring women and children to these institutions and/or failed to uphold statutory provisions regulating their operation.
Now comes word that CORI’s executive board is refusing to meet and listen to a presentation detailing the Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) campaign to bring about (i) an apology and (ii) a distinct redress scheme. JFM sought a meeting with CORI on the advice of Cardinal Sean Brady, who characterized said presentation as “fair” and “balanced” while also encouraging the group to “continue its efforts to establish dialogue and a process of justice and healing for all concerned.” What does it mean that the Primate and CORI are on such different pages?
This is Ireland in 2010—Ireland after the Ferns, Ryan, and Murphy Reports, Ireland after Pope Benedict’s apology, Ireland as it prepares for an apostolic visit. The continuing refusal to engage survivors of the Magdalene laundries and the Bethany Home underscores the continuing need for transparency in Church-State relations.
The deepening economic crisis is, of course, the proverbial elephant in the midst of this discussion. The government has informed JFM that it will not fund any compensation package for Magdalene survivors. The religious congregations fear further dissipation of their assets. Money is the determining factor. Consequently, there will be no apology, no admission of culpability, no access to records, no health and housing services, no memorial, no oral history project.
Banks meanwhile are bailed out. Executives in corporate and public service enterprises receive golden parachute pay-off’s. Political representatives exploit the expenses reimbursement system. But, the cost involved in making reparation to some of the most marginalized of Irish citizens will break the national coffers?
Apologies are no longer cheap. Apologies establish legal liability. And thus survivors of the Magdalene laundries and the Bethany Home are still waiting to hear the words, “we were wrong and we are sorry.”
Bertie Ahern’s apology to residential institution survivors, in May 1999, is crucially instructive on this issue. On that occasion, the apology came first; survivors came forward demanding justice in greater numbers having first been told that what happened to them was wrong. Church and State deny survivors of the Magdalene laundries and the Bethany Home the same restorative justice.
Magdalene survivors must also deal with a particular sexual stigma that, in part, contributes to their unwillingness to come forward and speak about their past. For women of a certain generation this stigma is deeply felt. And, Church and State know this to be the case. Indeed, they depend on it.
Justice for Magdalenes will persevere despite the latest obstructionist tactics. We do so, because survivors of the Magdalene laundries and the Bethany Home do exist. There are communities of former Magdalene women, for example, living in convents in Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
Survivors read between the lines of political gobbledygook and religious simulation. As one such survivor told me recently, “they’re hoping that in 10 years, we’ll all be under the sod and they can relax.”
James M. Smith is an associate professor in the English department and Irish Studies program at Boston College. He is the author of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment. He serves on Justice for Magdalene’s advisory board committee.
“Banks meanwhile are bailed out. Executives in corporate and public service enterprises receive golden parachute pay-off’s. Political representatives exploit the expenses reimbursement system. But, the cost involved in making reparation to some of the most marginalized of Irish citizens will break the national coffers?”
“we were wrong and we are sorry.”
Is it really such a hard word to say? These people are meant to be the powerful and the strong. If they can’t even say sorry then what are the rest of us meant to look up to? Is it any wonder people are losing faith in the Church, the government and in human nature itself?!
did these women receive any wages for their work. if not of course they should at least get their pay . it should be easy to calculate.the government are responsible for slave labour in Ireland .give them their dignity and their pay
Perhaps the reason is because even in 2010 women are still second class citizens in Ireland.They are still seen as chattels of the patriarchal system and like children, they can be used and abused at will.
Could it also be that these “fallen women” have been dehumanised by Irish society, so they are seen as nothing but sinners.
But the biggest sinners are those who condemn then and still refuse to say sorry.
To say sorry would mean we Irish would have to take full responsibility for our actions towards these beautiful innocent women whose only “crime” was making love to a man and becoming pregnant.!!!!creating life suddenly a crime???
Mary Magdalene was a Priestess and not a prostitute in the way we understand it today.
Mary Magdalene was self sufficient and rich and did not NEED TO MARRY ANY MAN AND BE DEPENDENT ON HIM.
She was in fact a virgin, the same as the mother of Jesus.
But once again the Roman church changed the meaning of the word virgin to something totally different- to keep women under control of the males in the institution of marriage.
Nice scam and over the years men and women were expected to fall into this institution and have a third party (church) in the marriage.
Sure the patriarchal males loved having these women and children as chattels/possessions as Bob Geldof referred to his wife and children.
If the women in the Magdalene prisons were sinners, then why not the sperm donors?
No doubt the excuse for this is that she Eve-Ill tempted him and he was helpless to keep his penis in his trousers.
The suffering endured by these beautiful Eve’s still exists in the collective consciousness of ALL WOMB MEN in Ireland. The “lucky” ones did not become pregnant so were not stigmatised.
To all those Magdalene women I say – you have not committed any sin – sin was created by nasty men to keep you under control and deny you your sacred sexuality.
Please do not be afraid to speak out at how you were shunned by your own families and friends because the foreigners- Roman Church ordered it so.
Take back your power and be proud of your sacred sexuality like Mary Magdalene was.
Remember Mary Magdalene taught Jesus all about sacred sexuality- so be proud of being a Magdalene- a Sacred Priestess who made men whole because they only are male and you are fe+male- totally whole.
Now do you see why the men of god feared you and had you locked away and made slaves of, sold your creations- children and punished you beyond human endurance.
The men of god FEARED YOU ALL and punished you.
Now the karma is theirs as it is returned to them 10,000 times what they dished out to you.
So Bertie and the boys take heed, because that is a hell of a lot of suffering, which no amount of paper…oops sorry money can buy.
it is church money which would pay compensation and there is plenty I assure you.WE paid it all to the church, they invested it and still do on a daily basis on trade platforms and profit in numbers off the scale, so let the Gov not try that trick as an excuse.
The real excuse is admission of guilt means the men of god have to say we treated you beautiful young women as inferior, like they did with native Americans, Aboriginees and native Irish.
To do so means males have to loose their rank as superior beings in the hierarchy.
is it that difficult to admit we are all equal.?
Michael Woods used his special position to protect the Catholic Churches Coffers, although it has not been proven he is a member of “Upus Dei” he will surely go to Heaven with all those “Good Catholics” praying for him.
Hopefully Cardinal Brady can start these talks as he seems in favour of them?
Who you trust to broker a deal? History has shown that that there is a need for Transparency and Legal Representation.
Will History repeat itself?
I Hope not?
oops, pressed submit button by mistake.
The attorney general at the time was Michael Mc Dowell.When the deal was being finalised between Cori and Michael Woods, Mc Dowell was excluded.Woods is quoted as saying at the time,”the leagle people simply couldnt have attended – it was a no-go area for them- they had fallen out with the religious” Woods even went on to say at the time that his religion was an asset.
Remember the price that was paid in setting up the redress board,- namely the silencing of survivors and the threat of fines or imprisonment if you dared mention any names.
How did they get away with such action?
I think they got away with it because of the shock and trauma of having been incarcerated at such a young age and what that did to one’s psyche.
When people are in shock and traumatised, it is very dificult to be alert and attentive to what is going on around you. Governments can do what they like.
Soon after the apology was given, the redress board was set up and the price of taking redress or money was that you were gagged and if you broke this gagging order and mentioned names of abusers in print or to journalists,- you would be fined or even imprisoned!
I think the governments rejection of redress for the magdalenes shows how insesitive this government is and gives a lie to that apology by Mr Ahern.
i think the apology that Bertie Ahern gave was ficticious and utterly insincere. You just can’t take it seriously.”We are sorry that we didn’t detect your pain” As Mannix Flynn i think said; “it’s the apology of a plank”
Just like the secret meeting betweem Cori and devout catholic Michael Woods which gave indemnity to the religious orders and made the taxpayer liable.
The Attorney General at the time at