Today’s news is a bright day for the north inner city, as we remember a very dark period in our history
Confirmation that a National Centre for Research and Remembrance will be located at the site of the former Magdalene Laundry on Sean McDermott Street is a victory for survivors, according to Social Democrats Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon.
“Confirmation by the government that a National Centre for Research and Remembrance will be located at the site of the former Magdalene Laundry on Sean McDermott street is an enormous victory for survivors, who have fought for years to ensure there was an appropriate memorial at the site.
“The Magdalene Laundry on Sean McDermott street was the last laundry in the country to close, in 1996. As far back as 2013, Mr Justice John Quirke, the author of the Magdalen Commission report, recommended that the site be used as a memorial.
“However, when I was a member of Dublin City Council in 2018, there was a proposal to sell the site to an international hotel chain. Thankfully, councillors vetoed that proposal and instead backed plans to turn the site into a memorial.
“My only regret, is that is has taken nearly 10 years, from Justice Quirke’s recommendation to today, to confirm that a memorial will placed on the site. Today’s news is a bright day for the north inner city, as we remember a very dark period in our history.
“While I welcome any advances on commemorating our horrific institutional past, it should be noted that this centre must developed through meaningful engagement with the survivors of Mother and Baby Homes, Industrial Schools, Reformatories, Magdalene Laundries and related institutions. For decades, these individuals and groups have been denied justice by the State and the Church. It essential that they are at the centre of this process.
“If we are to move on from the past, then we must remember it and learn from it. This centre will be a place to remember and commemorate all of the women and children who suffered in Magdalene laundries around the country.”
29 March, 2022
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