On a calm, clear Tuesday night in February 2013, a long line of Irish women in their 60s, 70s and 80s stood side by side on the plinth outside Government buildings in Ireland. These women were survivors of the notorious Magdalene Laundries. On behalf of the State and its people, the leader of their country had apologised for all they had endured.
In the midst of that group of women stood a young man in his 20s named Steven O’Riordan. Steven isn’t the son of a Magdalene survivor. He isn’t a human rights activist. He is the ‘accidental’ campaigner who fought to have these women and their stories recognised.
The Magdalenes and I is the extraordinary story of how one young man met with and campaigned for 100s of Magdalene survivors. It reveals in shocking detail the trauma the women suffered with exclusive never heard before interviews given by survivors and their family members. It pieces together the highs and lows of what it was like for Steven and the women he met to expose the truth, fight for justice and triumph against all the odds.
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On a calm, clear Tuesday night in February 2013, a long line of Irish women in their 60s, 70s and 80s stood side by side on the plinth outside Government buildings in Ireland. These women were survivors of the notorious Magdalene Laundries. On behalf of the State and its people, the leader of their country had apologised for all they had endured.
In the midst of that group of women stood a young man in his 20s named Steven O’Riordan. Steven isn’t the son of a Magdalene survivor. He isn’t a human rights activist. He is the ‘accidental’ campaigner who fought to have these women and their stories recognised.
The Magdalenes and I is the extraordinary story of how one young man met with and campaigned for 100s of Magdalene survivors. It reveals in shocking detail the trauma the women suffered with exclusive never heard before interviews given by survivors and their family members. It pieces together the highs and lows of what it was like for Steven and the women he met to expose the truth, fight for justice and triumph against all the odds.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
To mark the release of Cillian Murphy's new film Small Things Like These, Steven sat down with actress Eileen Walsh to discuss her role in the movie and the working relationship she has with Cillian. Eileen's career spans over 30 years, with her breakthrough performance coming in Enda Walsh's play Disco Pigs.
This bonus episode explores Eileen's work to date, her long-standing friendship with Cillian and why she felt compelled to take on another role that focused on the Magdalene laundry subject 22 years after she first appeared in The Magdalene Sisters. Small Things Like These is in cinemas nationwide starting Friday, November 1st.
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As the Irish State agrees to investigate its role in the Magdalene Laundries, Steven prepares to meet the chairperson of that group, Martin McAleese, to outline his evidence of State interaction and submit the stories he gathered of the women to the committee. Steven also presents the committee with a Magdalene Laundry ledger detailing the State's financial contributions to a Magdalene Laundry in Dublin. Steven also submits key evidence of State involvement to other Magdalene laundries operating throughout Ireland.
Soon, word begins to filter through that the Stanhope Laundry, where Kathleen Legg resided, will not be part of the state investigation, leaving the survivors shocked and bewildered.
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The Forgotten Maggies launches at the Galway Film Festival to critical acclaim. Its success draws enormous media attention to the stories of the women and it’s now time for Steven to contemplate his next move.
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As Steven and Gerard set about editing the documentary, The Forgotten Maggies, Steven gets word that submissions are now open for the Galway Film Festival. Steven believes that this is his chance to get the women’s story out to a national audience and submits his documentary in the hope that it will be accepted to the festival. A few weeks later his attention turns back to Maureen’s story. Is this the breakthrough Steven and Maureen have been waiting for?
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As Steven’s documentary gathers pace he is desperate to find a person with a religious background to speak on the subject. After months of emailing the nuns looking for their participation he soon turns his attention to the bishops. Finally, Bishop Willie Walsh agrees to speak and Steven’s focus is on the women who were exhumed in 1993.
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Impacted by Mary Norris’s story, Steven visits the Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry in Sunday’s Well Cork. An unexpected accident reveals much deeper wounds about the Laundry's past. As a result Steven writes to the four Religious Orders who ran the Magdalene Laundries throughout Ireland asking if he could meet with any survivors who were left behind.
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After reaching out to the London Irish Centre in the UK Steven speaks with survivor Mary King who was abandoned on the street in Dublin and put into a home in County Westmeath by the courts. Mary talks about the devastation she suffered while in the institutions and the pain of losing and rediscovering her family.
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It’s Friday night and Steven is watching the Late Late Show when a surprise phone call lifts him from his seat. It’s Maureen Sullivan a survivor from the Good Shepherd Magdalene Laundry in New Ross, Co. Wexford. Maureen wants justice for what she suffered and Steven promises to do what he can to help her. Their friendship and Maureen’s story ignites a passion and a determination by Steven to expose the truth by making his first feature-length documentary.
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It’s the summer of 2007 and Steven meets with Mary Norris, an outspoken Magdalene survivor who opens his eyes to the horror of the asylums. Could someone really end up in a Magdalene Laundry just because they went to the movies without permission?
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It’s 2006, and Steven has graduated from Bath Spa University UK. Inspired by Peter Mullen’s film The Magdalene Sisters, Steven is fascinated by the story of the Magdalene Laundries. However, one quick Google search by Steven changes everything.
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