Miriam Haughton
Search for other papers by Miriam Haughton in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Mary McAuliffe
Search for other papers by Mary McAuliffe in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
Emilie Pine
Search for other papers by Emilie Pine in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Introduction
Commemoration, gender, and the postcolonial carceral state
Abstract only
Log-in for full text

Recently, Ireland has begun to face up to the legacy of abuse in Irish residential institutions during the twentieth century. State and church agencies are reluctant to acknowledge their roles in this, meaning delay and denial; but political and social remorse has been expressed to survivors of abuse in Industrial Schools, Magdalen Laundries and Mother and Child Institutions. We can gain an understanding of how the Magdalen Laundries and other institutions operated, and have been investigated and remembered, by analysing the deep relationality of these institutions and social attitudes. Its inclusiveness is mirrored by contributors’ mobilisation of approaches from psychology and history to close readings of political, artistic, and oral texts, to accounts of performances and autobiographical narrative. This work draws attention to how agile critics must be in approaching such a complicated, occluded history. Finally, it shows that many of these attitudes continue through the Direct Provision system for refugees and asylum seekers, so though much has been done to remember and recover Ireland’s institutional past, this issue has not been resolved. ‘Legacies’ is an elastic term, acknowledging the ways that traces of these institutions continue to mark Irish society, not least through the unmet need for restorative justice.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

All of MUP's digital content including Open Access books and journals is now available on manchesterhive.

 

Legacies of the Magdalen Laundries

Commemoration, gender, and the postcolonial carceral state

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 524 220 21
Full Text Views 209 86 1
PDF Downloads 245 96 2