Ireland's Magdalen Laundries and the Nation's Architecture of Containment

The Magdalen laundries were workhouses in which many Irish women and girls were effectively imprisoned because they were perceived to be a threat to the moral fiber of society. Mandated by the Irish state beginning in the eighteenth century, they were operated by various orders of the Catholic Church until the last laundry closed in 1996. A few years earlier, in 1993, an order of nuns in Dublin sold part of their Magdalen convent to a real estate developer. The remains of 155 inmates, buried in unmarked graves on the property, were exhumed, cremated, and buried elsewhere in a mass grave. This triggered a public scandal in Ireland and since then the Magdalen laundries have become an important issue in Irish culture, especially with the 2002 release of the film The Magdalene Sisters.Focusing on the ten Catholic Magdalen laundries operating between 1922 and 1996, Ireland's Magdalen Laundries and the Nation's Architecture of Containment offers the first history of women entering these institutions in the twentieth century. Because the religious orders have not opened their archival records, Smith argues that Ireland's Magdalen institutions continue to exist in the public mind primarily at the level of story (cultural representation and survivor testimony) rather than history (archival history and documentation).Addressed to academic and general readers alike, James M. Smith's book accomplishes three primary objectives. First, it connects what history we have of the Magdalen laundries to Ireland's “architecture of containment” that made undesirable segments of the female population such as illegitimate children, single mothers, and sexually promiscuous women literally invisible. Second, it critically evaluates cultural representations in drama and visual art of the laundries that have, over the past fifteen years, brought them significant attention in Irish culture. Finally, Smith challenges the nation—church, state, and society—to acknowledge its complicity in Ireland's Magdalen scandal and to offer redress for victims and survivors alike. The Magdalen laundries were workhouses in which many Irish women and girls were effectively imprisoned because they were perceived to be a threat to the moral fiber of society. Mandated by the Irish state beginning in the eighteenth century, they were operated by various orders of the Catholic Church until the last laundry closed in 1996. A few years earlier, in 1993, an order of nuns in Dublin sold part of their Magdalen convent to a real estate developer. The remains of 155 inmates, buried in unmarked graves on the property, were exhumed, cremated, and buried elsewhere in a mass grave. This triggered a public scandal in Ireland and since then the Magdalen laundries have become an important issue in Irish culture, especially with the 2002 release of the film The Magdalene Sisters. Focusing on the ten Catholic Magdalen laundries operating between 1922 and 1996, Ireland's Magdalen Laundries and the Nation's Architecture of Containment offers the first history of women entering these institutions in the twentieth century. Because the religious orders have not opened their archival records, Smith argues that Ireland's Magdalen institutions continue to exist in the public mind primarily at the level of story (cultural representation and survivor testimony) rather than history (archival history and documentation). Addressed to academic and general readers alike, James M. Smith's book accomplishes three primary objectives. First, it connects what history we have of the Magdalen laundries to Ireland's architecture of containment that made undesirable segments of the female population such as illegitimate children, single mothers, and sexually promiscuous women literally invisible. Second, it critically evaluates cultural representations in drama and visual art of the laundries that have, over the past fifteen years, brought them significant attention in Irish culture. Finally, Smith challenges the nationchurch, state, and societyto acknowledge its complicity in Ireland's Magdalen scandal and to offer redress for victims and survivors alike. Born In England Into A Family Of Successful Catholic Writers, Ward's Dedication To The Church Ignited When, As A Young Woman, She Joined The Catholic Evidence Guild. A Group Of Street Corner Preachers, The Guild Members Gave Witness To Their Catholic Faith In The Parks Of London. Ward Met Her Future Husband, Australian Law Student Frank Sheed, During Her Days With The Guild. Together, Maisie And Frank Founded The Publishing Company Of Sheed & Ward, Which Made A Significant Contribution To Catholicism Through The Publication Of Original Works By Catholic Writers And Translations Of Noted Catholic European Theologians.--book Jacket. Throughout Her Life, Ward Wrote, Lectured, And Raised Money For Her Causes. Her Books Included Biographies Of Chesterton, Newman, Houselander, And Robert Browning, As Well As Books About The Saints, The Early Church Fathers, And Scripture. To Promote Sheed & Ward's Books, She Traveled The Lecture Circuit In America. She Gave Numerous Talks At Catholic Colleges, Newman Clubs, And Parish Suppers, Getting To Know American Catholics. During Her Last Decades She Devoted Herself To Harboring The Harborless, Founding The Catholic Housing Aid Society.--book Jacket. Maisie Ward Believed That God Mattered, And That Faith Unlived Was No Faith At All. Through Her Writing, Social Commitments, And Lecturing, She Inspired An Entire Generation Of Pre-vatican Ii Believers To Hope That Aggiornamento Might Be Possible.--book Jacket. Dana Greene. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 231-242) And Index. "Focusing on the ten Catholic Magdalen laundries operating between 1922 and 1996, Ireland's Magdalen Laundries and the Nation's Architecture of Containment offers the first history of women entering these institutions in the twentieth century. Because the religious orders have not opened their archival records, Smith argues that Ireland's Magdalen institutions continue to exist in the public mind primarily at the level of story (cultural representation and survivor testimony) rather than history (archival history and documentation). The book is addressed to academic and general readers alike."--Jacket Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Part 1: The Magdalen Asylum and History: Mining the Archive 1. The Magdalen in Nineteenth-Century Ireland 2. The Magdalen Asylum and the State in Twentieth-Century Ireland Part 2: The Magdalen Laundry in Cultural Representation: Memory and Storytelling in Contemporary Ireland 3. Remembering Ireland’s Architecture of Containment 4. (Ef)facing Ireland’s Magdalen Survivors 5. The Magdalene Sisters 6. Monuments, Magdalens, Memorials Conclusion Gallery: Figures 6.5–6.19 Appendix Notes Bibliography Index In a time when Catholic women were expected to stay home and raise families, Maisie Ward decided she wanted to make a greater contribution to her faith. With her husband, Ward published original works by Catholic writers and translations of noted European Catholic theologians. Ward also wrote, lectured, travelled, and raised money for her causes. Greene's biography of this remarkable woman provides inspiration for the current generation of American Catholics. The first biography of this amazing woman of faith, The Living of Maisie Ward provides inspiration for the current generation of Catholics whose lives and actions will profoundly shape the American Church in the twenty-first century. This book contends that Ireland’s Magdalen laundries chiefly exist in the public mind at the level of story (cultural representation and survivor testimony) rather than history (archival history and documentation). -- .