Event Notice
“Abuse by Church and State: The Hidden Story of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries”
A Talk by Maeve O’Rourke, 2010 Global Human Rights fellow, and James M. Smith, Author and Associate Professor of English, Boston College
12:00- 1:15 pm
Lewis Hall 302
Maeve O’Rourke, LLM ’10, and Associate Professor James M. Smith, author of Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment, will discuss their legal campaign for an investigation into- and reparations for- the abuse of thousands of girls and women in Ireland’s church-run Magdalene laundry institutions from 1922 – 1996.
Prof. Smith will explain the workings of the Magdalene Laundries, which incarcerated vulnerable girls and women including those considered to be “fallen” and subjected them to forced unpaid labor. He will also reveal the Irish State’s interactions with the laundry system. Maeve will discuss the legal case she presented to the UN Committee against Torture (UNCAT) in May 2011, the resulting UNCAT recommendations, and the Irish government’s response to date. She will also share some experiences of the Magdalene Laundries from women who gave their testimony for the UN submission.
This event is being co-sponsored by Harvard Law Students for Reproductive Justice, HLS Advocates for Human Rights, and the Harvard Women’s Law Association
my name is Mary Creighton .way backin 1974 i was taken by car to high park laundry . i was supposed to be on my way to dunboyne mother and baby home. but was told the driver was tired and i had to spend the night there ..mrs mcevilly the social worker told me that i would be picked up from there in the morning . poppycock 5 months later i was given 10/15 min to pack my things and no wages for the months work i did in the laundry . i overheard a nun say to the head nun as i got in the car should we give her some money the reply was schhh.i was worked for 5 months till my pregnancy was too advanced then i was sent on my original journey . i took panic attacks in that place and felt i was going to die there as we were locked up at night no ventalation and most definatly no escape . i will never forgive them for my mental anguish and false imprisnment .kidnapped to work as a slave .