The Donnybrook Magdalene Laundry opened in 1837 and closed in 1992.
@maglaundries has so far recorded the names of 315 women and girls who died there.
A YouTube video showing that the since abandoned Laundry site and its artefacts were still well preserved prompted Dr Mark Coen @UCDLawSchool, Prof Katherine O’Donnell @UCDPhilosophy & Dr Maeve O'Rourke
@uniofgalway to delve further into its operation and legacy.
Their research team uncovered important financial records on site, demonstrating that the Laundry operated annually with a significant financial surplus. This disproved a 2013 government published report claiming that financial records did not survive and that laundries generally operated on a break-even basis.
The project's oral histories and archaeological and architectural analysis of the buildings show how daily life and work was designed to be punitive, further undermining the State’s insistence that these were benign institutions where no physical or human rights abuses took place.
Artefacts from the site are now being transferred to
@NMIreland and the research team is advocating for new legislation to ensure that such institutional archives are preserved and made accessible to citizens. They continue to work with survivors to ensure society better understand how class and gender politics have caused and continue to cause significant disadvantage in our society.
Read their case study, winner of the 'Engaged Research impact prize' in the 2023 UCD Research Impact Case Study Competition:
ucd.ie/research/impact/cases…
@ucddublin @ucdsocscilaw @UCDCentreHRts @HistoryHub_ie @UcdCpd @artscouncil_ie @DeptCultureIRL @HISTORY @RTEHistoryShow @jenoconnell @lynnekell