The "Magdalene Laundries" were intended to be homes for troubled girls, but ended up as dumping grounds for unwed mothers, orphans, the mentally disabled, the homeless and the unwanted. More than 11,000 women passed through ten Magdalene institutions between 1922 and 1996.
NOTE: Magdalene Societies in the United States operated asylums across the country in the 19th Century, patterned on the Irish model.
Magdalenes of Ireland
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Katie Bender gets some assistance from Johanna Bender (L) as they dump water from a boot while sitting on a flooded street after Hurricane Arthur passed through in Manteo, N.C.
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Gravesite, former Magdalenes, Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland
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Graves, former Magdalenes, Donnybrook Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland
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Magdalene graves at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland