Origins
The Dublin Magdalen Asylum in lower Leeson Street was the first such institution in Ireland. Founded in 1765 by Lady Arabella Denny, it admitted only Protestant girls. In 1918 the home became a children's home and adoption society. Following the Leeson Street asylum's closure, the Bethany Home, founded in 1921, provided similar refuge services for Protestant "fallen women".
The first Catholic home was founded in Cork in 1809.
Magdalene asylums grew out of the Evangelical rescue movement in the United Kingdom during the 19th century, whose formal goal was to rehabilitate prostitutes. In Ireland, the institutions were named for St. Mary Magdalene.
The Magdalene movement in Ireland was appropriated by the Catholic Church following Catholic Emancipation in 1829 and the homes, which were initially intended to be short-term refuges, increasingly turned into long-term institutions. Penitents were required to work, primarily in laundries, since the facilities were self-supporting and were not funded by either the State or the Religious denominations.
As the Magdalene movement became increasingly distant from the original idea of the Rescue Movement (finding alternative work for prostitutes who could not find regular employment because of their background), the asylums became increasingly prison-like. Supervising nuns were instructed to encourage the women into penance, rather than merely berating them and blocking their escape attempts.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Misericorde is described by the Catholic Encyclopedia: "In receiving patients no discrimination is made in regard to religion, colour, or nationality. After their convalescence, those who desire to remain in the home are placed under a special sister and are known as "Daughters of St. Margaret". They follow a certain rule of life but contract no religious obligations. Should they desire to remain in the convent, after a period of probation, they are allowed to become Magdalens and eventually make the vows of the Magdalen order. The congregation celebrated its fiftieth anniversary 16 January 1898."
Read more about this topic: Magdalene Asylum
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