From 1922 until the closure of the last laundry in 1996, at least 10,012 women and girls were in the ten Irish Magdalen Laundries of four women's religious orders; the youngest was 9 years old. 879 died there. Most women described a cold, rigid regime of physically hard work and prayer with humiliations; many were given a "House name" instead of their own name. The report was written by a committee of the Irish government.
Deaths
879(counted, women who died in the laundries from 1922, deaths, not killings (not including two houses of the Sisters of Mercy))Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese)
„Deaths occurring in the Laundries from 1922: 879*“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary. Original
Period
1922-1996 (74 years)
Report published
5 February 2013
Country
Ireland
Institutions
Sisters of the Good Shepherd Sisters of Our Lady of Charity Religious Sisters of Charity Sisters of Mercy Irish State
Memorial bench for the women of the Magdalen Laundries in St Stephen's Green, Dublin
Image: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg),
CC BY-SA 4.0,
Source
What happened to the people
Who was affected? Victims and numbers
Since 1922 at least 10,012 women had been in Magdalen Laundries, with 14,607 known admissions; not including the two laundries of the Sisters of Mercy.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIII, Kennzahlen
„Number of women who spent time in Magdalen Laundries since 1922: 10,012*“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIII, Kennzahlen.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIII, Kennzahlen
„*Excluding the two Magdalen Laundries operated by the Sisters of Mercy“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIII, Kennzahlen.
Original
The youngest known woman admitted was 9 years old; the median age on entry was 20.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIII, Kennzahlen
„Age of youngest known entrant: 9“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIII, Kennzahlen.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIII, Kennzahlen
„Median age at time of entry: 20“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIII, Kennzahlen.
Original
879 women died in the laundries from 1922 onwards, the youngest at the age of 15.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIII, Kennzahlen
„Deaths occurring in the Laundries from 1922: 879*“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIII, Kennzahlen.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIII, Kennzahlen
„Age of youngest at time of death: 15“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIII, Kennzahlen.
Original
How were they charged and sentenced?
Courts and the criminal justice system referred girls and women to the laundries, for example on remand, as a condition of probation or after a prison sentence; the police also brought women there. This concerned about 8.1% of the known routes of entry. The underlying offences ranged from vagrancy and theft to manslaughter and murder, but the great majority concerned minor offences.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIV (PDF-S. 3)
„Referrals of girls or women from the criminal justice system, (approximately 8.1% of known routes of entry) including:“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIV (PDF-S. 3).
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XIV (PDF-S. 3)
„referrals by members of An Garda Síochána“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XIV (PDF-S. 3).
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XV (PDF-S. 4)
„the underlying criminal charges or convictions ranged across the full spectrum from vagrancy and larceny to manslaughter and murder“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XV (PDF-S. 4).
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), S. XV (PDF-S. 4)
„the large majority of cases involving women referred to the Magdalen Laundries from the criminal justice system were for minor or petty crime“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, S. XV (PDF-S. 4).
Original
What happened to those affected?
The majority of the women described a cold, rigid regime of physically hard work and prayer with reproach, scolding and humiliating put-downs; some spoke of having been exploited.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Nr. 18
„majority of women described the atmosphere in the Laundries as cold, with a rigid and uncompromising regime of physically demanding work and prayer, with many instances of verbal censure, scoldings or even humiliating put-downs“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 18.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Nr. 18
„Others spoke of their real sense of being exploited“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 18.
Original
The committee found that most women did not describe sexual abuse by the sisters or physical mistreatment of the kind found in the industrial schools.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Nr. 18
„They made no allegations of sexual abuse against any of the Sisters“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 18.
Original
Witness accounts and records
Witness Women on the laundries, according to the committee's report
Many of the women who met with the Committee - and particularly those who entered the Magdalen Laundries as young girls - experienced the Laundries as lonely and frightening places. For too long, they have been and have felt forgotten.
Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese): Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 3.
OriginalWitness The "House name" instead of one's own name
women were given a “House” or “Class” name which was used instead of their birth name. Many of the women who met the Committee, however, found this practice deeply upsetting and at the time, felt as though their identity was being erased.
Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese): Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 14.
Original
Background
Course of events
The last laundry closed in 1996; in 26.5% of cases with a known route, the referral came via the State.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Nr. 2
„until the closure of the last Laundry in 1996. Of the cases in which routes of entry are known, 26.5% were referrals made or facilitated by the State“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 2.
Original
The laundries were run by four women's religious orders.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Nr. 21
„the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Religious Sisters of Charity, and the Sisters of Mercy“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Nr. 21.
Original
Who received the assets, who profited?
The State supported the laundries directly: with payments for individual women referred by public authorities, with general payments under the Health Acts, with payments for remand and probation cases and with tax exemptions. In the laundry in Sean MacDermott Street in Dublin, state contracts accounted for about 18 percent of business in the 1960s. After examining the financial records, the committee concluded that the laundries mostly operated on a break-even basis and were not highly profitable.
Evidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Executive Summary, Nr. 32, S. XXIII
„the Committee found evidence of direct financial assistance to the Magdalen Laundries under a number of headings“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, Executive Summary, Nr. 32, S. XXIII.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Executive Summary, Nr. 33, S. XXIII
„One such example is the grant of charitable tax exemptions.“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, Executive Summary, Nr. 33, S. XXIII.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Executive Summary, Nr. 35, S. XXIV
„State contracts are estimated to amount to approximately 18% of the total business of the Laundry for that period“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, Executive Summary, Nr. 35, S. XXIV.
OriginalEvidence: Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese), Introduction, S. VIII
„The Laundries operated for the most part on a subsistence or close to break-even basis rather than on a commercial or highly profitable basis.“
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, Introduction, S. VIII.
Original
Government report
Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese): Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Executive Summary, 5 February 2013.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Government report
Irische Regierung, Inter-Departmental Committee (Vorsitz Martin McAleese): Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Introduction by the Independent Chair, 5 February 2013.
Original(retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
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