Magdalene survivors 'thrilled and moved' by Enda Kenny’s apology - state redress could be extended

how about the inclusion of the Bethany House residents who were in the CoI equivalent, another missed opportunity of the 26 county state to redress the needs of all of the community by holding both institutions with the complicity of senior govt figures to account, unfortunately, it is reduced to a one sided apology, come on Kenny its supposed to be an inclusive society

Seamus - you are right about that.,

Smyrnian. The majority will have the same story ( myself included. But when somethings wrong percentages don`t make it right. Neither of us may ever know just how close we came to becoming part of the victim minority. Mortimer74 so called Catholic bashers have every right to bask when such reasons are handed to them. Your attitude is what facilitated many of the past wrong doings. wrong doings that people live the rest of their lives with. You prefer to camofladge and diminish responsability with excuses like who formed these institutions. That is irrelevant to the victims. At least the state has been forced to admit the truth regardless of how ugly it is, My Catholic church leaders should do the same and start practicing what they preach.

As I said before I spent a great many years in Catholic schools and was taught by priests, nuns and brothers from a variety of orders and I was an altar boy for 5 years and I never saw, heard or suspected anything bad. I did experience a disciplined and rigorous academic environment. They were the best years. Sorry Catholic haters.

The Magdelene laundries were the equivalent of the religous police of their day,my own mother spent six months in one of them sometime during the late forties,and decided to go AWAL and hit the road by emigrating to the UK,got married and settled in London,she never would talk about the time spent there and if reminded of it always changed the subject,the memory of those times were just too painfull and for so many thousands of women who were to spend years in those slavehouses,she was a pretty strong woman and never lost her own religous faith even though she had every reason to.

“Catholic-bashers have embellished the truth about abuse in Catholic institutions. It's time to put the record straight” Another brutally honest piece on the whole saga by Brendan O'Neill in the UK's Telegraph. Can't post the link on IC, but it's worth Googling because the truth will set you free.

For more on the truth behind how the Magdalene laundries have been used as an anti-Catholic propaganda tool read the excellent article by Irish columnist Mary Ellen Synon. “Magdalene laundries: or how British-bred eugenics put Magdalene across the world” 05 February 2013

And what's going to happen to the people who ran and supported the Magdalene Laundries? Surely they deserve some sort of punishment.