IRELAND
Irish Examiner
By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter
Over 1,600 women died in Magdalene laundries — more than double the figure cited by the McAleese report.
The figures, compiled by Justice For Magdalenes Research (JFMR), are included in a scathing dissection of the McAleese report being prepared by the group — a draft section of which has been seen by the Irish Examiner.
In the lengthy critique of the report’s chapter on deaths, the group states it has so far identified a total of 1,663 who died in Magdalene laundries — almost twice the figure of 879 cited in the McAleese Report.
The JFMR study hits out at a number of the McAleese report’s basic findings, including the fact that it did not include the number of women who died before 1922 and those who died in the care of the religious orders after the laundry closed. JFMR says that some 565 women fall into the former bracket and over 220 women fall into the latter bracket.
The group points out that this figure could be larger but because of how the report presents the figures an exact breakdown is not possible.
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