IRELAND
Irish Examiner
[with audio]
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Magdalene survivors had shed these tears many times before, but this time they were not alone — a nation, and a Taoiseach, was weeping with them.
By Shaun Connolly, Political Correspondent
One elderly survivor, shaking with emotion in the Dáil’s public gallery, gripped the hand of the woman next to her as the State’s apology finally came, and the pair sobbed openly with many others as a pulse of relief surged through the chamber.
Once isolated in fear, the survivors were now united in vindication.
The applause that began on the floor for Enda Kenny’s speech soon spiralled out into something far more profound, as the Dáil stood in ovation and acknowledged the hardship and pain inflicted upon generations of women.
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