The Magdalene Sisters

'The Magdalene Sisters' is a 2002 film written and directed by Peter Mullan about teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Asylums, otherwise known as the 'Magdalen Laundries': homes for women who were labeled as "fallen" by their families or society (though the film itself questions this). The homes were maintained by individual religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Peter Mullan has remarked that the film was initially made because victims of Magdalene Asylums had received no closure in the form of recognition, compensation, or apology, and many remained lifelong devout Catholics. Former Magdalen inmate Mary-Jo McDonagh told Mullan that the reality of the Magdalene Asylums was much worse than depicted in the film. In May, 2009, an Irish government Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse released a 2000 page report detailing thousands of cases of often horrific abuse in many schools, although the scope of the investigation excluded the Magdalene Asylums. more