He thought of Mrs Wilson, of her daily kindnesses, of how she had corrected and encouraged him, of the small things she had said and done and had refused to do and say and what she must have known, the things which, when added up, amounted to a life. Had it not been for her, his mother might very well have wound up in that place. In an earlier time, it could have been his own mother he was saving – if saving was what this could be called. And only God knew what would have happened to him, where he might have ended up.
The worst was yet to come, he knew. Already he could feel a world of trouble waiting for him behind the next door, but the worst that could have happened was also already behind him; the thing not done, which could have been – which he would have had to live with for the rest of his life. Whatever suffering he was now to meet was a long way from what the girl at his side had already endured, and might yet surpass. Climbing the street towards his own front door with the barefooted girl and the box of shoes, his fear more than outweighed every other feeling but in his foolish heart he not only hoped but legitimately believed that they would manage.
A Note on the Text
This is a work of fiction based in no part on any individual or individuals. Ireland’s last Magdalen laundry was not closed down until 1996. It is not known how many girls and women were concealed, incarcerated and forced to labour in these institutions. Ten thousand is the modest figure; thirty thousand is probably more accurate. Most of the records from the Magdalen laundries were destroyed, lost, or made inaccessible. Rarely was any of these girls’ or women’s work recognised or acknowledged in any way. Many girls and women lost their babies. Some lost their lives. Some or most lost the lives they could have had. It is not known how many thousands of infants died in these institutions or were adopted out from the mother-and-baby homes. Earlier this year, the Mother and Baby Home Commission Report found that nine thousand children died in just eighteen of the institutions investigated. In 2014, the historian Catherine Corless made public her shocking discovery that 796 babies died between 1925 and 1961 in the Tuam home, in County Galway. These institutions were run and financed by the Catholic Church in concert with the Irish State. No apology was issued by the Irish government over the Magdalen laundries until Taoiseach Enda Kenny did so in 2013.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to express her thanks to Aosdána and The Arts Council, Wexford County Council, The Authors’ Foundation, The Heinrich B?ll Association and to Trinity College, Dublin, for their support.
Thanks also to Kathryn Baird, Felicity Blunt, Alex Bowler, Tina Callaghan, Mary Clayton, Ian Critchley, Ita Daly, Dr Noreen Doody, Grainne Doran, Morgan Entrekin, Liam Halpin, Margaret Huntington, Claire and Jim Keegan, Sally Keogh, Loretta Kinsella, Ita Lennon, Niall MacMonagle, Michael McCarthy, Patricia McCarthy, Mary McCay, Helen McGoldrick, Eoin McNamee, James Meaney, Sophia Ní Sheoin, Claire Nozieres, Jacqueline Odin, Stephen Page, Rosie Pierce, Sheila Purdy, Katie Raissian, Josephine Salverda, Claire Simpson, Jennifer Smith, Anna Stein, Dervla Tierney and Sabine Wespieser.
And to my students who have taught me so much over the years.