50th Anniversary Commemoration of Magdalene Laundry in New Ross

By David Looby
New Ross Standard
March 4, 2017

http://www.independent.ie/regionals/newrossstandard/news/50th-anniversary-commemoration-of-magdalene-laundry-in-new-ross-35487342.html

This Sunday marks 50 years since the closure of the Good Shepherd's Magdalene Laundry in New Ross and to remember the victims of the laundry the fourth annual Flowers for Magdalenes memorial ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. at St Stephen's cemetery, Irishtown.

Flowers for Magdalenes is a family event and children are welcome to attend. The laundry was located in the Irishtown on the site where the Mercy Convent now stands. It was one of the ten laundries in Ireland and closed its doors in 1967. With the demolition of St Aidan's Industrial School in December 2015 the communal grave at St Stephen's cemetery remains the only focal point for Magdalene survivors and their families.

Last year's intergenerational gathering attracted a large crowd and saw young children, teenagers and older members of the New Ross community gather together respectfully to commemorate the Magdalene women through poetry, song, reflection and the laying of flowers. A musical composition entitled 'The Emasculated Magdalened Innocence', penned and performed by local musician Michael Fottrell completed the homage.

Local artist Nancy Rochford-Flynn, who organises this event every year, said the success of a project like this relies on support from the community. 'Active commemoration that is shared among us all is the only way of marking these women's lives as significant,' she said.

Marking the run up to International Women's Day this event will be celebrated across the country on Sunday. Justice for Magdalenes Research (JFMR) is calling on members of the public to visit Magdalene graves on this day and lay flowers to honour the women who lived and died behind convent walls.

Approximately 10,000 women nationally are known to have entered a Magdalene Laundry from the foundation of the State in 1922 until the closure of the last laundry at Sean McDermott Street in 1996. At least 1,663 former Magdalene women are buried in cemeteries in Ireland, many of whom are in unmarked graves.

[ interdisciplinary artist and community art activist who has worked with the Waterford Memories project http:]