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Remembering lived experiences of dark pasts
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Date
2024-06-28
Authors
McAtackney, Laura
Kwasnicka, Olga
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Routledge
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Abstract
Institutions that specifically incarcerated girls and women – for a variety of moralistic and pragmatic reasons – were operational in Ireland until relatively recently, with the last Magdalene laundry closing in the 1990s. Their recent operation means we need to carefully consider what we know about them and how that knowledge can be communicated to a wider public as difficult heritage. Of the ten Magdalene laundries that operated in post-independence Republic of Ireland, three were still operating after 1990 (High Park, Donnybrook and Sean MacDermott Street; all in Dublin), with Sean MacDermott Street finally closing in 1996. Of the Magdalene laundries that survived into the new state of Northern Ireland, three remained in operation until the early 1980s (Belfast, Derry and Newry), with Marianvale outside Newry finally closing in 1984. One important repercussion of this recent operation in terms of how we remember – and transmit memory as difficult heritage – is the significant number of victims and survivors who can relate their experiences firsthand. This chapter argues that, unlike official reports, we must focus on lived experience rather than formal, institutional histories as the baseline of our knowledge as we attempt to ethically remember this difficult past.
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Keywords
Magdalene laundry , Difficult heritage , Ireland , Memory , Lived experience , Firsthand
Citation
McAtackney, L. and Kwasnicka, O. (2024) 'Remembering lived experiences of dark pasts: Transitioning Ireland's Magdalene laundries to difficult heritage', in Hannan, L. and Purdue, O. (eds.) Public History in Ireland. New York: Routledge, pp. 61-80. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003218241-4
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© 2024, the Authors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.