Reportage slideshow of photographs taken at the now derelict St. Mary's Good Shepherd Convent & Magdalene Laundry, Cork, Ireland. Built in 1881, the Good Shepherd Convent was the site of an orphanage and a Magdalene Laundry until the late 1970s. The three main buildings - a home, convent, and orphanage - have been in a derelict condition since a serious fire in 2003. The laundry building was among a number of buildings that were destroyed in that fire. Magdalen Asylums grew out of the "rescue movement" in Britain and Ireland the 19th century, which had as its formal goal the rehabilitation of women who had worked as prostitutes. It has been estimated that around 30000 women were admitted during the 150-year history of these institutions, often against their will. The last Magdalen Asylum in Ireland closed on September 25, 1996. In Ireland, the institutions were named after Mary Magdalene, a character in the Bible who repented her sins and became one of Jesus' closest followers. As the phenomenon became more widespread, it extended beyond prostitution, to unmarried mothers. Even young girls who were considered too promiscuous and flirtatious were sometimes sent to the Asylum. This paralleled the practice in State Run asylums in Britain and Ireland in the same period, where many people with "social dysfunction" were committed to asylums. The women were typically admitted to these institutions at the request of family members or priests. Without a family member on the ...
Keywords: magdalene laundries, good shepherd convent, cork, ireland, abuse, nuns, sisters, magdalene sisters, laundries, laundry, convent, asylum, mpobrien, 1977
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