Irish Times
Patsy McGarry
The Justice for Magdalenes advocacy group has published a guide for
women who were incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries as they prepare
to engage with the Government Magdalene Fund. Titled Survivor Guide to Magdalen Commission , it is available at magdalenelaundries.com.
Following the official State apology by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on February 19th, the Government asked Mr Justice John Quirke
to undertake a three-month review following which he is to make
recommendations on criteria for applications to the Magdalene Fund.
Women who had been in the laundries and who have not already registered with the Magdalene Commission are encouraged to do so.
The group’s guide is intended solely as an aid to the women. Its
purpose is to help them and their families create a checklist of their current needs.
The group has emphasised that it is not intended to supplant or replace
any official documents created by the Magdalene Commission or the Irish
State and that it is being offered solely to help the women engage with
the statutory process.
It was prepared by the advocacy group as a practical response to
requests for guidance made to it by some women who had been in the
laundries, their relatives and some politicians.
It has also been supplied to other Magdalene support groups as well as
to relevant NGOs, citizens information and family resource centres.
The Justice for Magdalenes group is particularly anxious that survivors
not affiliated or aligned with any support group, as well as those
among the wider Irish diaspora, are made aware of the need to register
with the Magdalene Commission .
The Government decided on 19 February 2013 to establish a Fund for
the benefit of those who spent time in a Magdalen Laundry or St Mary's
Stanhope Street.
Mr Justice Quirke has been asked to advise on the establishment of a
Scheme under the Fund (to operate on a non-adversarial basis) including
identifying the criteria and factors to be taken into account (such as
work undertaken in the Laundries for no remuneration). He will advise on
the operation of the Fund and, in particular, the nature and amount of
payments to be made out of the Fund. Until he reports back to the
Government, no decisions will be made on the detailed operation of the
fund.
The purpose of this form is to allow you to register an interest in
being considered for benefits from the fund in due course. If you
complete the form below, you will be contacted as soon as a decision has
been on the nature of the Scheme.
This form is not a legal document nor should it be construed as
giving any person an automatic entitlement to benefit from the fund.
The
Institutions considered relevant to this expression of interest are:
Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge:
St Mary’s Refuge, High Park, Grace Park Road, Drumcondra, Dublin;
Monastery of Our
Lady of Charity Sean McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street), Dublin 1;
Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy:
Magdalen Asylum / Magdalen Home, No. 47 Forster Street, Galway;
St Patrick’s Refuge, Crofton Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin;
Religious
Sisters of Charity:
St Mary Magdalen’s,
Floraville
Road, Donnybrook, Dublin;
St
Vincent’s, St
Mary’s Road, Peacock Lane, Cork;
Sisters of the
Good Shepherd:
St Mary’s, Cork Road, Waterford;
St Mary’s, New
Ross, Wexford;
St Mary’s, Pennywell Road, Limerick;
St Mary’s, Sunday’s Well, Cork.
And while not a
Magdalen Laundry but included in the Fund:
Religious
Sisters of Charity:
St Mary’s, Stanhope Street, Dublin 7 (laundry operated in the Training
Centre)
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