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| ⚫ | '''Mary Norris''' (aged 70 in 2003) was sent to a ] run by the Good Shepherd Order in ], ] in ] at the age of 16. She spent two years there. The laundry closed down in ]. | ||
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| ⚫ | She was removed from her mother at the age of twelve, as her mother was having an affair, and those in authority thought she was a bad example. The family was split up; the boys and girls were sent to different places run by different religious institutions. | ||
| ⚫ | '''Mary Norris''' (aged 70 in 2003) was |
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| At the age of sixteen, Mary was sent to work as a maid but was returned to the orphanage after she went to a cinema without permission. She was then sent to a laundry in Cork. She reports that the way she was treated at the laundry amounted to ], and that the girls and women were forced to work ten hours a day every day except Sunday. She reports also that her name was changed to Myra, as the nuns felt she did not deserve the holy name of Mary, and that she was told falsely that her family had abandoned her. | |||
| ⚫ | She was removed from her mother at |
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| At 16 Mary was sent to work as a maid but they returned her to the orphanage after she went to a cinema without permission. A sister told her, she always knew Mary would turn out a ‘tramp’. Mary did not even know what the word meant. The nuns had her examined by a doctor. Although the doctor said she was a virgin she still was sent to a laundry in Cork. She feels the way she was treated at the laundry amounted to ]. | |||
| The girls and women were forced to work every week of the year and 10 hours per day all days except Sunday. Ironically it was done in the name of a loving God. The place was cruelly cold in winter and steaming hot in summer. When in the Magdalene laundry the women were even prevented from talking to one another and from seeing anything of the outside world. Mary Norris is not ashamed that she was there. She feels the ] is guilty. Although the Church claims to be sorry, Mary Norris feels they are only sorry the truth has been discovered. Women were kept in Magdalene institutions solely on the decision of the Roman Catholic Church. She would rather have been in prison. There she would have got a trial and a sentence and would have known when she was coming out. | |||
| ⚫ | When Mary had been in the Magdalene laundry for two years, a concerned aunt in America tracked her down, and removed her from the laundry. She was reunited with her mother, brothers, and sisters. Her brothers had been with the ] — an order which has also in some cases been found guilty of abuse. They were both alcoholics at the time of their deaths. One died as a result of a fire, the other as a result of murder. Her sister emigrated and none will return to Ireland. | ||
| As one of many humiliations her name was changed to Myra. The nuns felt she did not deserve the holy name of Mary. When Mary Norris once would not work she was humiliated by being forced to lie down with her arms outstretched while the others watched. One woman who caused a disturbance was taken away and spent the night in an infirmary. Mary Norris assumes she was beaten. Despite this Mary Norris feels the psychological damage caused by constant degradation were worse than the effects of a beating and still affect her at the present time. She was told (wrongly) that her family had abandoned her. | |||
| Mary Norris feels sure some women killed themselves although that was considered a ]. Women just disappeared and the others were not told why. Mary Norris herself was tempted to kill herself but did not do it as she feared she would be crippled instead of killed. | |||
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| ==External links and reference == | ==External links and reference == | ||
Revision as of 13:23, 10 March 2006
Mary Norris (aged 70 in 2003) was sent to a Magdalene laundry run by the Good Shepherd Order in Cork, Ireland in 1949 at the age of 16. She spent two years there. The laundry closed down in 1994.
She was removed from her mother at the age of twelve, as her mother was having an affair, and those in authority thought she was a bad example. The family was split up; the boys and girls were sent to different places run by different religious institutions.
At the age of sixteen, Mary was sent to work as a maid but was returned to the orphanage after she went to a cinema without permission. She was then sent to a laundry in Cork. She reports that the way she was treated at the laundry amounted to slavery, and that the girls and women were forced to work ten hours a day every day except Sunday. She reports also that her name was changed to Myra, as the nuns felt she did not deserve the holy name of Mary, and that she was told falsely that her family had abandoned her.
When Mary had been in the Magdalene laundry for two years, a concerned aunt in America tracked her down, and removed her from the laundry. She was reunited with her mother, brothers, and sisters. Her brothers had been with the Christian Brothers — an order which has also in some cases been found guilty of abuse. They were both alcoholics at the time of their deaths. One died as a result of a fire, the other as a result of murder. Her sister emigrated and none will return to Ireland.