For centuries, women in Ireland who were deemed ‘fallen’ or ‘promiscuous’ could be sent to institutions known as Magdalene Laundries.
These institutions were state-sponsored and church-run, and forced women – many of whom were victims of abuse – to work for no pay away from society. In 1993, a mass grave containing 155 bodies was discovered in the grounds of one of the laundries, shedding new light on the horrors that unfolded within them.
The very last laundry in Ireland ceased operating in 1996, with former Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny branding them the “nation’s shame”.
Women who survived the institutions recounted being forced to scrub floors, being physically or sexually abused, and giving birth without medication or proper treatment, only to have their children taken away from them. Others remained in the workhouses for a lifetime.
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Ian West/PA Wire)
Singer Sinéad O’Connor famously tore up a picture of the Pope in 1992 during her appearance on Saturday Night Live in protest at abuse within the Catholic church. She had previously spent 18 months at a care facility attached to a Magdalene asylum for skipping school and shoplifting. She claimed girls there “cried every day” and recalled being given jobs such as washing priests’ clothing.
These harrowing institutions are at the heart of the new film, Small Things Like These, which stars Cillian Murphy in his first lead role after Oppenheimer. Adapted from Claire Keegan’s award-winning novel of the same name, the story follows Irish coal merchant Bill Furlong (Murphy) who grows suspicious after noticing the convent in his small village has become a hive of activity.
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Getty Images)
The film, pitched by Murphy to Matt Damon on the set of Oppenheimer, is dedicated to the tens of thousands of women sent to the laundries between 1922 and 1998. While they were operating for many years before 1922, the conditions for women only worsened over time.
Reviews for the film have been overwhelmingly positive so far, with one critic writing: “It stays true to the quietly devastating source material. Over a terse 97 minutes and a handful of simple scenes with bare-bones dialogue, the story of Bill Furlong is shown, not told.” Another gushed: “A poignant story about powerful institutions & their influence. It does a lot with little dialogue, leading to something rich and thought-provoking.”
Small Things Like These is out in UK cinemas now
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