Do Penance or Perish: A study of Magdalen Asylums in Ireland
It traces the development of the Female Penitentiary Movement in Britain
and examines how, following the arrival of the Good Shepherd Sisters in
1848, 'Rescue Work' in Ireland underwent a change. Short-term lay
refuges became long-term Magdalen Institutions, many of whose inmates
were discouraged from leaving and were sometimes detained for life. Labouring in the adjoining laundries unpaid workers were subjected to
penance, harsh discipline, silence and prayer. As prostitute numbers
dwindled other 'fallen' women were targeted including unmarried mothers
and wayward or abused girls - many being incarcerated by their families
or priests.
