Talk by Conall Ó Fátharta
Magdalene Laundries, religious-run institutions that confined “fallen” (“immoral” or seditious) girls and women were, contrary to popular belief, never hidden from Irish society. Nor were the women confined in them. Indeed, for much of the twentieth century, the religious orders themselves inserted the institutions into the lives of ordinary citizens – on an almost daily basis – through the press. This coverage – whether through adverts seeking donations or news reportage - shaped public opinion around the Magdalene Laundries for the greater part of a century. Ó Fátharta’s talk will argue that decades of news reportage normalized the confinement of women by presenting incarceration as an act of charity, care, and, ultimately, a social service.
Current Fulbright Awardee at NYU, Conall Ó Fátharta is a former Senior News Reporter with the Irish Examiner, and a current doctoral candidate at Maynooth University, where he is researching the Magdalene Laundries.
12:30PM • AUST 103 • Free & open to all
mary.burke@uconn.edu for accommodations/queries • Sponsored by Irish Studies & the English Department
For more information, contact: Mary Burke at mary.burke@uconn.edu