YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Magdalene Laundry New Ross - interview with survivor Maureen Sullivan

Magdalene Laundry New Ross - interview with survivor Maureen Sullivan — Transcript

by Eileen McCourt (Eileen McCourt Author) · 8,746 words · 1,169 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00[Music]
0:11hello everyone and welcome to this video
0:14the next one in our series here when
0:16we're talking about the magdalin
0:17laundries and the magalin mother and
0:19baby homes and I am here today in front
0:22of the building in Ur Ross in County
0:24wford just behind me here the building
0:26that Wass the magdalin laundry and we
0:30have a very important book written on it
0:32it's called girl in the tunnel by Morin
0:35Sullivan Morin herself came through the
0:37system and I'm very pleased to say that
0:40she's with me here today and going to
0:42talk to
0:44[Music]
0:53us Morin Morin Sullivan thank you for
0:56joining us Moren it's a pleasure to have
0:58you here thank you it's
1:00and this is your amazing book girl in
1:02the tunnel okay Moren you spent two
1:07years in this building behind me here
1:09which was the neuros laundry what
1:11exactly is this building here can you
1:12point it out to us which part of it do
1:14you are you familiar with the great part
1:16down there that is the church and the
1:19entrance of where you see the steps
1:21going up that's the entrance to the
1:23conent the convent then you have the
1:25church yes and then you have the The
1:28Outsiders part of the Church they were
1:31the people from the outside that used to
1:32come into Mass so we used to call them
1:34The Outsiders Outsiders so now that's
1:37very disguised inside now because I've
1:39been in there just a few months ago and
1:42there's a big wall built up that you
1:44would never think that it was the church
1:47The Altar and everything is all hidden
1:49um I went down to the original part
1:51about 12 14 years ago I'm not sure how
1:54long now and it was a play center for
1:58little children little babies it was a a
2:00nursery a nursery okay so okay Morin can
2:03I talk you through some of the main
2:04events in your book
2:06here your mother was pregnant with you
2:09she was 19 years of age yeah when your
2:11father died yes okay and the Ireland
2:16that was there at the time there wasn't
2:20much place for single women with
2:22children she already had two children
2:24right yeah so the only thing for her to
2:26do was to marry again which is what she
2:29did yes and she married the name you
2:31give him but it's not his real name the
2:33name you give him is Marty Murphy yeah
2:36and he used to call you three Sullivans
2:39the Sullivan bastards that's correct and
2:41then your mother would on have 10 more
2:42children with him yes and they were the
2:44Murphy's yeah and you explain in your
2:46book how there was big differentiation
2:49here they got fed first yes and then you
2:52were fed after that whatever was left
2:53you got that
2:55okay you were sexually abused by your
2:59stepfather mhm and when you reported
3:02that to your nun who taught you in
3:05school you thought it was going to be
3:07sorted out as it would be today he would
3:10have been removed from the family home
3:12but what happened there was he was left
3:14in the family home and you were removed
3:16and brought into the new Ross building
3:19here right yeah okay and the book is
3:23about your experiences in that you were
3:25here for two
3:26years and this was a good shepherd
3:30here yeah right you were beaten you were
3:34put into the laundry to
3:37work
3:38and tell me about various incidents you
3:41talk about one time about the wetting
3:43the Beed can you tell us about in what
3:46happened to you but the mattress put
3:47around your neck and what they did to
3:49you if you at the
3:54[Music]
3:57bed well what you had to do if you wet
3:59the bed you hold it up put your two arms
4:02back and you hold it up and they'd have
4:04a strap sometimes they have a strap not
4:06all the time sometimes they' help you
4:08with the bed and you'd carry it and
4:10people would say well how did you carry
4:11it but you could there were straw
4:13mattresses at them times they weren't
4:16all that heavy so you'd carry the
4:18mattress you'd have to let it dry
4:21through which would make the straw and
4:24everything dry and the the material on
4:28the mattress would dry and it would let
4:30the air go through supposed to cleanse
4:33it as well and you'd rub it down to H
4:36disinfectant H J's flu it was you'd wipe
4:39it over with J's flu that was the name
4:42of the stuff then child of 12 years of
4:44age were you aware of the humiliation of
4:45all that did you feel humiliation or did
4:47you just do it more in as a young child
4:49could you have been aware of that I was
4:52aware you always felt that there was
4:55something that they just didn't like you
4:58or that you've done something wrong by
5:02telling and I didn't report that I was
5:05being abused and none had noticed that
5:08there was something wrong and she was
5:09very clever for her time and cuz she was
5:12an elderly nun but she was able to sus
5:15it out that I was being abused and she
5:17kind of got it out of me in ways with
5:19chocolate sweets black magic I'll never
5:21forget it and I In fairness to her she
5:24meant well she was very good to me
5:26always looked after me and always looked
5:28out for me
5:30and I believe in my heart that she sent
5:33me here that she believed that I was
5:35going to come to St Aiden's and get an
5:37education because she covered all the
5:39books for me and my mother bought me a
5:41pencil case but I knew when I drove into
5:44that yard that laundry van drove into
5:46that yard you never got that pencil case
5:48back yeah I never got my pencil case
5:49back I never seen M the boogs again and
5:52I knew the way they brought me down
5:54around the laundry and showed me around
5:56the laundry I said this is really
5:57strange but you're not sure work as
5:59you're a child in them days a
6:0212-year-old child would have been maybe
6:04a seven-year-old child today because we'
6:07not television no radio we're only
6:09allowed to know so much you had to be
6:11quiet a child should be seen not heard
6:14and and you were brought in there
6:16morningin in the belief you believed it
6:18and your mother believed that you were
6:19coming to school in a training school St
6:21Iden you were not given any education
6:25talk to us about that I was given no
6:27education uh my books was taken off me
6:29my pencil case was taken off of
6:33[Music]
6:38me and that pencil case morning was very
6:40important to you because it was the last
6:42gift your mother gave you before it
6:43wasn't that was yeah that that was you
6:46thought you were going to school yeah
6:47and I never had a pencil kiss so that
6:50pencil kiss was so important it to me it
6:53was Posh it was what the all the rich
6:56girls had at school that I never had and
6:58I was so proud of us that broke my heart
7:02little possession you had yeah so Morin
7:05you were two years in this building
7:07behind me here and then you were given a
7:09new name Francis Francis and you went on
7:12the record as being
7:14Troublesome despite the fact that you
7:16were the victim yes in your own
7:19[Laughter]
7:20[Music]
7:24home well I was Troublesome child
7:27because I shouldn't have talked about it
7:28and I shouldn't have been tell on my
7:30stepfather so that's why I was put down
7:32as Troublesome I wasn't put down as
7:34Troublesome in Carlo I was put down as
7:36troubl here and plus the dates that they
7:40give that I entered was all wrong we had
7:42a judge um Mar UL that went through all
7:46our history and went through everything
7:49and she granted us another 5,000 that
7:52the government was trying to take from
7:54us that the lies that was put in our
7:56dates of when we entered places
8:07yeah and then you were sent to the
8:08Convent in a yeah and that also was
8:11supposed to be a training school but you
8:14were put to work in the laundry
8:15scrubbing and cleaning and no pay no pay
8:18again hor laundry work yeah yes and you
8:21were two years there as well yes
8:29[Music]
8:30and then you were sent to Mar and rad in
8:33Dublin to St Mary's Asylum for the blind
8:35blind yes a laundry again why were you
8:38sent to the for the blind Mor do you
8:40know why I don't know and I wasn't
8:42working in the laundry there I've done
8:43just done bits of laundry I mostly used
8:45to do the dormitories I used to serve
8:48them their food and they were all blind
8:49people and they were all blind people
8:51lovely people I loved them they were
8:53gorgeous people they were so kind so
8:56nice totally different atmosphere from
8:58this completely different completely
9:00different atmosphere sorry I cry over
9:02the P you're okay it's very emo I was
9:05your we possession they took it from you
9:06and they denied it you never got it back
9:09yeah um and they changed my name they
9:11changed your name how did you feel about
9:13well they changed everybody's name why
9:15do you think they did that more their
9:16said was to protect you but then when
9:19somebody came looking for you they said
9:20you didn't exist that yes exactly that's
9:22happened many people in read yeah it
9:24wasn't to protect us it was to protect
9:26themselves and to cover up for
9:27themselves that they had people
9:30that nobody could trace us and that's
9:32when we went outside to the outside
9:34world if we ever did some of them we
9:36always thought we'd never get back out
9:38again we never thought we'd see the
9:40outside world again and they didn't want
9:42us contacting each other so we couldn't
9:45look each other up or anything like that
9:47but they were so clever it was very
9:49cleverly done it reminds me of the
9:51Hitler regime it really does it's hard
9:54that's what Hitler would have done yeah
9:56you were such a young child
10:01[Music]
10:04Mor you left SE marriage of your own
10:06free will and you were given the train
10:07fair to Carlo hard did you get out of
10:10that place of your own free will your
10:12mother went to visit you so you go and
10:14ask for your pay you went and ask for it
10:16tell us what happened my mother came to
10:18visit me and it was raining and I went
10:20to close the window down so the rain
10:22wouldn't come in and she noticed me
10:24limping you're limping yes and she say
10:26what's wrong with you she said you're
10:27limping and I says my shoes too small
10:29for me and she said surely she said
10:31you're earing some money now that you be
10:33able to get a pair of shoes and I said
10:35no I don't get any money she had no idea
10:37what you were living because every time
10:38you got visitors there was none in the
10:40room with you yeah yes so we drank our
10:42tea and of course my mother had a lift
10:45back to Carlo in them times you didn't
10:47get trains or buses so she had somebody
10:50to give her a lift so she had to be back
10:52on a certain time back into the city to
10:54get her lift okay and she had to go and
10:57she said tell the Reverend mother
10:59that you should be earning money
11:01now and you did that so I went to the
11:04Reverend mother and I said my mom said
11:06that I should be earning some money and
11:09I need shoes and I need to get things
11:11for myself and she never she wasn't
11:13angry rting with me she said it's fine
11:16that's fine next when the lady that was
11:18in charge of us came and packed my case
11:20and she had you going to um Houston
11:23Station in the morning it was called
11:25something else then wasn't it now Morin
11:28you got home to Carlo yeah okay and then
11:31you went to London to work and your
11:33beloved granny died no I said a little
11:35while at car and I got JW I went to live
11:37with my granny I could go home again
11:39granny yes yeah and I got a job in the
11:42laundry in car it was your father's
11:44mother who father you've never seen this
11:46his mother and she loved you all and she
11:48loved us so much yes yeah so I got a job
11:51in the laundry in car of the white star
11:53laundry yes um I can prove all that yes
11:57where I first p a stamp was there and
12:00then uh I didn't want to was bringing
12:02back too many memories there was too
12:04many triggers in there and my mother got
12:07me a job in the Sacred Heart home in
12:09Carlo I just St there for a few months
12:11yes so I left and came to England you
12:13went to London and your granny died when
12:15you were in London yeah and then more
12:17you married yes I did
12:23[Music]
12:25yes Morin can I bring you back to a very
12:28painful time
12:30in 1986 at 35 years of age you just
12:33couldn't take it anymore and you
12:34attempted
12:36suicide okay and you said that in your
12:39book you said it just seemed the right
12:41thing to do because you were so ashamed
12:43you could see no way out and you said
12:46you had no happiness just a feeling of
12:48clawing Despair and I had a
12:52dark swirling Shadow for a soul that
12:56must have been a very very very Haring
12:58time for one you have husband you two
13:00lovely children and you just couldn't
13:03see this
13:06yeah it's very painful yeah your
13:08marriage ended which of course is
13:10reasonable because not it's
13:11understandable because of all you'd been
13:13through do now I have two lovely
13:14children love children yeah and then you
13:17met a counselor after that yes I did
13:20whom you opened up to yes and then
13:22another healer whom you opened up to
13:24that's right and you have really come
13:26out very very well at the other side of
13:28side here yeah
13:32[Music]
13:36Mor you're a wonderful person now talk
13:38me through the meeting that you went to
13:39in limr to find the records of these
13:42nuns and they denied any record yeah I
13:45and they told you you were never there
13:48there never was a child of that age in
13:49the laundry but you pursued it yeah and
13:51you got an answer from them and they
13:53said to you that the reason why they
13:56treated the way they did was because you
13:58could corupt the innocence of the other
14:00children if you mixed with them that's
14:02why you were kept away from them I know
14:05you're only a child then how do you feel
14:07about that now myy it hurts deep of
14:11course cuz you did nothing wrong yeah
14:14you were the victim here not the
14:15instigator of this crime and they make
14:17you feel like you've done something
14:19wrong that it's my fault that it wasn't
14:22my stepfather's fault I mean I was eight
14:24years of age when that abuse started
14:28eight she didn't know what was happening
14:30Mor you didn't know what was
14:32[Music]
14:40happening today
14:42Morin what would be your message to
14:44people out there who are looking at this
14:46what is your words of Word of Wisdom
14:48your advice to people out there what
14:50would you say to them well I'd say
14:51please when a little innocent child
14:54comes along and tells you that something
14:56like that is happening to them it
14:58doesn't matter who the abuser is or how
15:00big they are up in the world or how
15:02famous they are please listen to the
15:04little child I to me it's one of the
15:07worst crimes on this planet and yet
15:10nobody will look at it and more is still
15:12going on it's still going on because we
15:13can't talk about it endemic in our cult
15:16yes it is it is and there's a lot of it
15:19going on in families and people are
15:21still to this stay afraid to speak freid
15:23to speak yeah and mor the wonderful
15:24thing you've done is you have brought
15:26out this wonderful book and you you know
15:29this is your sole mission on this Earth
15:31to do this yeah and if you hadn't
15:33suffered the way you did you wouldn't
15:34have been able to write that book yes
15:37right yeah so there was some sort of a
15:38soul contract going on between you and
15:40the people who made you suffer if you
15:42would suffer to get this book out yes
15:44now this book is going out there and
15:45it's helping all those women who like
15:47you suffered in the institutions but who
15:49are not strong enough to write their own
15:51book yeah but not only that your book is
15:53going out to The Wider world and it's
15:56exposing and bringing out and revealing
15:58yes horrible stuff that was going on in
16:00our country here yes in 20th century
16:03Ireland do you not feel very proud about
16:05that I do I do I'm very happy about my
16:08book I'm very proud of it and nobody's
16:11going to take that bit away from me I'm
16:13going to hold on to that and if it helps
16:15one child I'm happy one child and when
16:19you come to Passover and your life
16:20review you say what did I do with the
16:22energy a lot to me in my lifetime I
16:23wrote that book book yes yeah I wrote
16:26that book yeah I'm very proud
16:29[Music]
16:36morning can you tell there some of the
16:37things that went on some of the
16:38punishments you stop here before we go
16:40behind us if you feel like talking if
16:41not just okay no no Behind These Walls
16:44well I tell you what they were very very
16:46good at and were I mean how clever we
16:49still when I think back on how clever
16:51these people were they had a big
16:52crucifix on a big rosary beeds around
16:55them with a leather belt and that
16:58grabbed the rosary beads like this said
17:01that that was the top of the Cross and
17:03they were able to put their fingers in
17:04it and they dig it into you well the
17:06bruises would be down along the side of
17:08the women and on their arms was just
17:12horrendous you see them at night time
17:14the poor arms all
17:16bruised and I mean that is proven now
17:18cuz you know the women that was taken
17:20out of High Park the maglin women was
17:22Tak they had plast Paris on them it was
17:24one woman with no skull and they were
17:26taken in overnight and cremators why no
17:30debt certificates no what nobody asks
17:33what happened to
17:37[Music]
17:42them and no morningin can I bring you
17:45back again to the laundry work you did
17:47in this building behind me here this
17:49building was where you were stripped of
17:51your identity your name was taken your
17:53pencil case was
17:55taken you know and then you put to work
17:58in that laundry
17:59and you were only a small child and
18:01those big machines the calendar putting
18:04the wet sheets in and getting them out
18:06tell us about that and how traumatic
18:07that was for you yeah well here along
18:10here there was the Sorting room and
18:11where the washing machines were and all
18:14the sheets would be washed and then be
18:15put into a big trolley and brought up
18:18and two girls would get them fold them
18:20out and put them and then we would catch
18:23the end of the sheet and put it into the
18:26calendar the steam out of it would
18:29frighten you and it go over to the other
18:32side the poor girls on the other side I
18:34think had a lot worse than we had
18:36because they'd have to take it off that
18:37have to peel off sometimes it wouldn't
18:39automatically come off and their poor
18:41fingers used to get burned you're only
18:4312 how did you cope with those big
18:45machines how did you do that well they I
18:46was too uh small to reach up to and they
18:49got a stool made from me the worked on
18:52the farm he made out of orange boxes he
18:55measured me and put made a stool for me
18:58to stand up on so that I'd be tall
19:00enough to put the sheets in yeah it was
19:03very cruel work we got burnt on several
19:05occasions and when we complain about it
19:08back to work it's just back to work or
19:10what we used to do there was a lady
19:12there and she told us we called her to
19:14or she she had a name and she was over
19:16us H Allison was her first name which
19:19probably wasn't her name at all and um
19:22she said get a wet cloth and put it on
19:25it cold water and put it on it you'll be
19:27fine you'll be fine yeah fine yeah
19:29you'll be fine yeah so I mean that's how
19:32cruel it was where did that cruelity
19:34come from what kind of a God create a
19:36cruelty like that women doing that on
19:39other women I think it was the whole
19:40psych at the time these nuns really did
19:42believe that you were there to be
19:44punished they to do Penance and they
19:47were doing their bit yeah and I mean
19:49finger pointing is not going to get us
19:50anywhere we've got to understand why
19:52they were doing what they were doing and
19:54the collusion between again we back to
19:55there Society church and state
20:00[Laughter]
20:06morning you were making R be as well as
20:07SC did that go yes that was our
20:09Recreation time when we finished working
20:11in the laundry now I was six weeks at
20:13over in St Aiden's then I was moved to
20:15the laundry for even sleeping and not
20:17only working but sleeping so at night
20:20time then it came to Recreation time
20:22that's what they called it so if there
20:24was an order in for the rosary beats
20:26we'd have to do the rosary these orders
20:28came from and from yes yes all them
20:31places these yes yeah and big orders big
20:34orders big orders and then if there was
20:36an order say from especially from
20:38America a lot of orders used to come in
20:40for the iron sweaters yes they were very
20:42popular and we'd have to do the iron
20:44sweaters and that was something I I
20:46mostly I done the beads because the iron
20:48sweaters I used to kind of moan about
20:51and I wouldn't do them so quick and I
20:53wasn't the best at knitting but and the
20:55oil there was oil in oil have to put
20:59them over over a chair and put them into
21:01came in RS in yes oh
21:05dear so that was our Recreation time so
21:08again came time to go to bed we were too
21:11tired to talk or to communicate with
21:14[Music]
21:20anybody B just get back to before you
21:23went in after your father first your
21:26first father died your birth father died
21:29um and you were living with u Marty
21:30Murphy there was an incident where you
21:32were always told to empty the urine
21:34bucket and it was all so heavy it
21:37splattered all over you yeah and you did
21:39that before you went to school yeah and
21:40you no clean clothes but on and you went
21:42to school spelling up that and your
21:44socks were always yellow yeah yeah yeah
21:47and you see sister Ronnie well we can
21:49say her name now she's passed sister
21:51Ronnie was her real yes yeah she was
21:53very good to me yes and she'd always
21:56said to me mar what happened your scks
21:58and you you know there's a smell coming
22:00now not in a heartful way she always was
22:02so kind to me when she said and she said
22:05I don't want
22:06people knowing that the smell is coming
22:08from you can you take this note home to
22:10your mother and she'd send the note up
22:12or in socks or smelling of urine can you
22:16give her clean socks or I'd have to come
22:19down that evening to the convent and the
22:21none would have clean socks for me well
22:23at least they weren't all a lot of them
22:25were good yeah I know she was she was
22:26very good to me yeah yeah there was a
22:29lot of collusion going on morning
22:31between church and state and Society in
22:33these homes wasn't there there was a lot
22:34even the guards the guard he would have
22:36taken you back that's right if you ran
22:38away it was girls that run away from in
22:40here and they were brought back the G
22:42didn't need they could turn your Blind
22:43Eye and let you go on here they didn't
22:45need to do that to didn't they didn't
22:47need to do that it was control yes yes
22:49was control and the power that the
22:51church had chur their power they were
22:53over everything our hospitals our
22:55schools our guardy they were over
22:57everything but the sad thing is moreing
22:59that the women in the women in the
23:01mother and baby homes they were there
23:02before because they were pregnant
23:04outside of marriage isn't that right yes
23:07but so many of them had been raped and
23:10were victims of incest right and were
23:12victims of sexual abuse by priests the
23:15very ones who are preaching to us
23:18correct that pregnancy outside of
23:20marriage is filthy sex anyway is filthy
23:22and and they were all up not all lot
23:25even the Bishops yeah were at us yeah
23:28and it's just horrible it's it's hard to
23:31to believe it all it's hypocrisy and a
23:34lot of abuse went on in the home I mean
23:36there's women that had children for
23:37their fathers their brothers and I mean
23:40not a word about it what about all these
23:42horrible things and went not why didn't
23:44to speak out against that and Society
23:46too more a lot of children were fostered
23:48out for weekends and to foster parents
23:50to work on the farms that's right and
23:52they were treated no better A lot of
23:53them no a lot of them were
23:55raped to work worse than the yeah how
23:59explain that more in this ethos this
24:00psyche that was in the Irish mentality
24:04in the 20th centur to me and I know a
24:06lot of people call it cover up and out
24:09to me it's pure evil it's evil yeah I
24:12have no other words for only
24:14evil this patriarchal society men in
24:18control and women were just there yeah
24:20and she said women had no rights in 207
24:22where they they were really at as you
24:25say their bodies belonged to the
24:27husbands and if woman left the house the
24:29children would be put in the custody of
24:31the father that's right yeah so imagine
24:33you put in the custody of Martin well
24:36I'm very lucky that I didn't very
24:39lucky Morin are you still angry do you
24:42have any bitterness or anger against
24:43these people who did this to you or can
24:46you see the point that the result of
24:48that was the fact that you wrote this
24:50amazing book yeah and you couldn't have
24:52written that unless you had been made to
24:54suffer the way you did suffer it was
24:56horrendous and yeah I totally agree with
24:58you I wouldn't be so supp sitting so
25:01proud today if all that didn't happen to
25:03me proud of what you done yes you're me
25:05and I uh I do get condemned for it I do
25:09get put down for it and that's okay I'm
25:11still going to stay strong I'm not going
25:14to allow that happens again again in a
25:16nice way I want to do it in a peaceful
25:18spiritual way that when these people
25:21attack me I just let them go and and
25:24send them into the life because there a
25:25lot of people who still want this kept
25:26secret of course dir secret yeah but
25:29it's not your dirty secret no it's not
25:32it's theirs it's theirs yeah it's theirs
25:34and they should own it and that's the
25:35problem they're not owned in it and we
25:37talk about Ireland of the SS and
25:39Scholars Ireland of the 100,000
25:42welcomes I mean moreing well I think all
25:45that's very untrue look how they're
25:47welcome people the that's put out
25:49they're
25:50superficial the gilding the sort of the
25:52coverup the coverup how we're protected
25:55to the world correct for nation yeah no
25:57we're not but only knew you yes she
26:00still more I still think a lot of people
26:01do not know because the truth has been
26:03kept a lot of people do know and they
26:05still keep it on yes but a lot of people
26:07do not know no that's right well I think
26:09people need to open up we have every we'
26:12have everything in uh uh like in um our
26:17our modern phones today we have YouTube
26:20we have Facebook and I think you know
26:23wake up and look at the truth and face
26:25the truth and that way we'll heal it and
26:27we can move Move On by healing there are
26:30people who say let it go it's history
26:32forget about no your story is our
26:35history yes and it's not just our
26:37history it's our pres let let go all the
26:40trauma the torture and the stuff that we
26:42went through that's been passed on
26:44different Generations EXA and we are
26:46living it correct we can't stop this Dar
26:48we can't keep it and are we going to let
26:50go of what happened in the 1916 Rising
26:53no well then we're not letting go of
26:55this why should we let it go it's part
26:58part of our history it happened and the
27:00big part is the collusion between church
27:02and state and Society yeah now they say
27:05which is which will you can say Society
27:07was at F because they knew what was
27:08going on but why was the psyche of
27:10society the way it was because of the
27:12way we had been programmed and
27:14controlled by the Catholic Church to
27:15think to think certain things about the
27:17dirtiness of sex SI of sex text outside
27:21marriage of egy that was all inducted in
27:23US yes and then who put that in there
27:26the Catholic church church then again
27:28the Catholic church was a fault but who
27:30had overcontrolled the Catholic Church
27:31to do that it was the state yes that's
27:34right the state again it was the state
27:36should never have done that they owned
27:38our hospitals our schools I know I'm
27:40repeating
27:42myself power over everything over to the
27:44Catholic Church yeah and that's where it
27:47was all went wrong Ed they were given
27:49that power what you could do with your
27:51body but you couldn't contraception
27:53large families 10 and 12
27:56yeah more a family in Carlo and there
27:59was 20 in it how could some poor woman
28:02have 20 children and a lot of these
28:04children put into these homes because
28:05the parents couldn't afford to feed them
28:07and a lot of them were put in because
28:09the mother had to go to England or go to
28:10America to get work and they were put in
28:13parttime yes they were just all weren't
28:14pregnant in there they weren't all
28:16victims no many reasons why they many
28:18reasons if a girl looked at a fell and
28:20all one woman was py I remember her
28:22telling her story that she happened to
28:24look at a man one day and smiled and the
28:26next minut she was put into a laundry
28:29because she was a Temptation a
28:30temptation to men
28:32yeah it's it's unreal when you think
28:35back on it now he's God how how did they
28:38get away with it I I don't I don't know
28:41the power they had moreing the power
28:42they had to through that it's not the
28:44same now though but tell me how do you
28:45feel about all now you still bitter I
28:48wouldn't say I'm bitter I'll tell you
28:49what makes me so what makes me keeps the
28:52anger in me and I'm trying to it's the
28:54way that it can come out and lie to your
28:58face but you're not to lie about
29:01anything but yet it's okay for them to
29:03lie double Stand double standards and a
29:06lot of people have that d double
29:08standards and it's very very wrong if
29:11they just wake up tell the truth come
29:13out and be honest and tell the truth and
29:15that's I have to admire sister for that
29:19and she told the truth and she taught me
29:20the whole story and I admired her I
29:23really did and I thanked her and it it
29:25gave me a healing it healed me I come
29:27home and I was upset when she came out
29:30and the way she explained that you were
29:32a Sil
29:34child and they couldn't have you playing
29:36with the other children so I said you
29:38have read my file and she says yeah and
29:41I said but you all told me that you
29:42don't have a file on me she's I can't
29:47say and then you find you recorded
29:51as what about your mother
29:53my my mother left
29:56Marty uh when he knew when she found out
29:59what he done to me she left him she went
30:02out and she lived out in Benny Curry and
30:05is that in W no Benny car where my
30:07father was from my father it's only
30:09three miles outside two miles outside
30:11Carlo and uh my mother wanted to be
30:15buried with my father but I wouldn't go
30:17against the other family wanted her
30:19wanted her buried with their father so I
30:22didn't interfere because I want to keep
30:24my daddy's grave and my granny's grave
30:26peaceful and nice and it Beyond Fair on
30:29them having to come out and meet me and
30:30me meet them so we kept it and it's a
30:32grand it suits everybody I've never gone
30:35back to my mother's when your mother
30:36pass on 2012 and you nured her for while
30:40did I did yeah yeah I went didn't I put
30:41her to bed in evenings and we Ed
30:43together her cuz my mother was never
30:45allowed to be a mother to me even with
30:48her second children uh see once you grow
30:51up with that it's it's in you you're
30:53listening to your father saying them
30:55things so it grows up with them children
30:58so they never accepted us either even
31:00the children in school listen to the
31:01parents you were called moreing the liar
31:03yes when you reported about your well
31:05that's what a pedopile will call you is
31:07a liar that's the that's the first bit
31:08of Groom the playground yes yeah yeah
31:12you see cuz the other sisters my half
31:14sister be said Morin the liar Morin the
31:16liar that's sort that I'd give them
31:18whatever I had maybe on a Friday Gran
31:21he'd buy his a bar chocolate so they'
31:23call me that so I'd give them the bar
31:25chocolate and these horrible things
31:28yes and these horrible things was
31:30happening through his grooming wasn't
31:33any if totally so that no one would
31:36believe me see if I said antic well no
31:38one we can't oh she's that's more in the
31:40liar don't believe her they're very
31:42clever they're very very clever it's
31:44this day they're very clever they get
31:46themselves into very special jobs high
31:48up jobs do you all get themselves into
31:51the church I don't know if that's
31:52happening still I think there's very
31:54little entering the church now from yeah
31:57they've gone down a lot but that's what
31:59they used to do was enter into the
32:00church to cover up and hide
32:02[Music]
32:10themselves let me take you back to the
32:12laundry in a
32:13thigh and this is I find this part
32:16horrific in your book you were washing
32:19the nuns
32:21underwear and you refused to do it you
32:25were washing their dirty knickers and
32:28the sanity towels full of pubic hairs
32:31and all that and you had to do that with
32:33your hands yes and then you
32:36refused but then you came back to the
32:38thing again and there was more for you
32:39to do and the other thing was then after
32:41that you had to wash their handkerchiefs
32:44yeah days before paper tissues so
32:46between washing their dirty underwear
32:48and their handkerchiefs moing how did
32:50you cope with that I find that probably
32:53the most horrific part of your boot and
32:55that wasn't here that was in a thigh
32:57yeah and on the Sentry towels here as
32:59well yes H the Sentry towel part kind of
33:03made me very sick kind of I got sick but
33:06the handes in a tie I'll never forget I
33:10I tried to stop myself from puking and I
33:13couldn't and I got physically sick and
33:16I'll never forget that none looking at
33:18me and was get back to your station yeah
33:21no bit passion no nothing just get back
33:23and you'll do them I refused I even
33:26threw the hankies all over you did you
33:28did you did the bucket I said I can't do
33:31this I'll do anything else give me
33:33anything else to do and I'll do it but I
33:35can't do this because my stomach I was
33:38getting sick all the time and you went
33:40back to your station and there was
33:41another bucket with anything you just
33:42give up to what's the point that was no
33:44point I think that was the most terrific
33:46part of your boook
33:48Moren and Moren remind us again what age
33:50you were when you were doing this awful
33:52work 12 when it all started I was doing
33:55all this work at the age of 12 and then
33:57when I went to a thigh I was 14 cuz I
33:59spent two years here two years here I
34:01made my confirmation and everything here
34:04I mean these people were denying that I
34:06ever was here and uh lucky that I made
34:09my confirmation because other than that
34:11would have kept denying that I was here
34:13then all of a sudden they had these
34:15false papers on me when I moved in I was
34:18the age of 13 in January which I
34:20wouldn't have been 13 through the August
34:22anyway so they told the Lord lies and
34:25then they said I was a Troublesome child
34:27you were darn as record is troublesome
34:28yeah yeah well of course I was
34:29Troublesome I'm after being sexually
34:31abused from the age of eight years of
34:33age and I'm not understanding what was
34:35happening to me what was this terrible
34:37pain about what was this man doing to me
34:40I didn't like it it you didn't know you
34:42were too young to know I mean how could
34:45it put me down this Troublesome how
34:46could it do things like that to people
34:49and how could a young person to make
34:51that up purpose done to you I tell young
34:53child wouldn't know that of course of
34:55they knew I wasn't making they otherwise
34:58that's why I was put in the laundry
35:00because they knew I wasn't making up why
35:03would they not let me go to school cuz
35:05they told me in their own words they
35:06didn't want you with the other children
35:08they couldn't have you with the other
35:09children because you could have told
35:11them what your stepfather was doing to
35:12you and you would corrupt their little
35:14Minds you were a soil
35:20child where what God told him to do that
35:24or to treat people like that Catholic
35:26Church yeah
35:29that was the mentality the thinking that
35:31was been that you were a sinner and you
35:33had to be there to be punished and to do
35:35penitence and that was their job to make
35:36you do
35:38that true more in your book what do you
35:40wish for your book well I wish for this
35:43book to will
35:45inspire other
35:48women to come forward tell their stories
35:51not to be ashamed and not to be afraid
35:55and anyone that suffered sexual abuse it
35:58doesn't matter how high up they were or
36:01what way people looked up to them don't
36:03be afraid speak out talk out about it
36:06tell your story don't hold it inside and
36:09let healing begin because otherwise
36:11there will be no healing so I hope that
36:13this book inspires people and I hope
36:16that it's say even if it's to save one
36:18little child and please listen listen to
36:21Little innocent children that is telling
36:23you these horrific story no child should
36:25be sexually abused it should never
36:29[Music]
36:36happen and now Moren your book is called
36:39girl in the tunnel yes because of the
36:42tunnel you went through every morning
36:43every night to get to where you working
36:45the laundry and back again now be here
36:47behind us here we've got the industrial
36:49school yes which is knocked now yes and
36:51just over there we've got the corridor
36:53that you and d and there the tunnel
36:55starts can you talk us through that
36:56please morning start here in the
36:58industrial school behind me yeah well
37:00you see the reason why I was in the
37:02industrial school because I was only
37:03gone 12 yes so I wasn't supposed to be
37:05in a laundry too young so they were
37:07confused of what way to deal with me
37:09being an abused child sexually abused
37:12child and so they put me into the
37:15industrial school for about a month us
37:17there about a month six weeks which was
37:19s to
37:20aens it was all other little girls there
37:23I wasn't allowed to talk to them they
37:24weren't allowed to talk to me yeah you
37:26talk about that in new book where you
37:27picking right in the morning when
37:28they're early and brought back again at
37:30night when they're all asleep yes so I
37:31was taken down the corridor all down
37:34long here along here and down and then
37:36you come to where you go down into a
37:39tunnel this was the corridor and then
37:40you went down into the tunnel into a
37:42tunnel which goes in under the church
37:44yes and you come out into the mag and
37:46that's the church over there on the on
37:47the laundry yeah that's right the
37:49laundry is out at the back of that one
37:51they put you in there because when the
37:52inspectors came you were too young they
37:54didn't want you to be seen and they
37:56forgot about you on and you were left in
37:58there morning that's correct well see
37:59first of all they had to get me out of
38:01the school and get and then I was put
38:04into the laundry with the sleep with the
38:05women with all the older women and
38:09anytime anybody came we don't know
38:11exactly who they were we're assuming
38:14suit and Suits yeah but that's what the
38:17nun would say the men with the suits are
38:19coming so they' hide me in the tunnel
38:21but I was I assume now I we're thinking
38:25anybody to come in they could not let
38:27them see me to because I was too young
38:29and a child shouldn't have been in a la
38:32in a laundry so I was hid down in the
38:36tunnel that tell me to stay there and
38:38one day they forgot about me and I could
38:40have been 7 8:00 we had no clocks we
38:42weren't allowed to look at time we
38:44didn't know what the only day we knew
38:46that was the two days was Saturday uh we
38:49cleaned the church so we knew it was a
38:51Saturday Sunday we had a little lie in
38:53in the morning we went to the next Mass
38:55instead of 7:00 Mass we went to 8:00
38:58Mass so that's how we knew it was a
39:00Sunday we begin to understand different
39:03days then we knew on a Monday that we
39:05were back in the laundry again so that's
39:07how we worked out the days cuz we
39:08weren't allowed to look at a calendar we
39:11weren't allowed to look at
39:14[Music]
39:19anything yeah Mary here from uros uh
39:23owns the little shop up here and she
39:25keeps this grave immaculate when I come
39:28down here maybe nearly 20 years ago it
39:31was Full Of Weeds it was gray it was
39:34horrible and uh thanks to Mary and she
39:37loves doing it and never once we praise
39:39for it but I I think it's nice to say
39:42thank you to everybody that does good
39:45work and she got all the surrounding uh
39:47what was it called it's Gran it was all
39:51them power washed and cleaned up because
39:53they wanted to keep the Natural Stone on
39:55us yeah got got the council to do it on
39:59Fair Play to the council they' done a
40:01great job great job they and uh Francis
40:05finegan insisted on the nuns there was
40:08no names on this grave nobody knew who
40:11they were that was here we we've been
40:14told that about 35 40 years ago that
40:18they were taken from the graves up here
40:20at the back of the good Shepherds and
40:23brought down here late at night and but
40:27we're not sure of how long ago it was so
40:30then Francis there was no names nobody
40:33knew who was in this Mass grave until
40:36Francis finegan investigated and made
40:39them put the names up of all the women
40:41that was buried here so I mean that
40:44that's very sad that in life these women
40:47were treated so cruy and so bad and in
40:51debt that weren't even recognized so we
40:54come here every year new Ross is very
40:57unique because we have Mary here we're
40:59so grateful to her for she keeps the
41:01graveyard here so lovely and puts fresh
41:04flowers on it every so often and then
41:07Nancy Watford
41:09Flynn uh started doing H honoring the
41:12magdalin and she made a beautiful flag
41:15flowers for the magdalin and her and her
41:18husband allows it to be flyed here every
41:21year that we honored them we come down
41:23here this year it's going to be on the
41:2526th of May and and she'll come and fly
41:28the flag and then they'll take their
41:30flag home so we have great you know to
41:34say big thank you to Nancy for all the
41:36great work that she's done to honor
41:39these women you see um there's I think
41:42it's
41:4364 people four women here and um during
41:48the little service we lay a flower for
41:51each one of them so we usually get maybe
41:53some little child that's involved and
41:56they would lay a flower for every one of
41:58the magdalin and then they they usually
42:00sing what the name of there oh there was
42:03a man yeah he was so impressed yeah song
42:06he wrote a song flowers for the MS so we
42:09sing that every year and uh and lay a
42:13flow as Mary said we lay a flower for
42:16each woman and we then we have a minut
42:18minute silence for them you know which
42:22is very important because these women
42:24were treated so badly in life
42:28they never had any respect like so we
42:30just feel that by having list to service
42:33we respect them and I always remember I
42:36I can tell my story but we don't know
42:39what happened to any of them women we
42:40haven't got their stories we don't know
42:43why they were locked up in these prisons
42:45and made work and made slaves out of and
42:47treated so badly so I think it's very
42:50important that we should H honor them at
42:53least once a year
43:02so here we
43:04are behind me is what was the convent
43:09and over here what where the laundry was
43:11and we're just at the other side of the
43:13wall here of the memorial which was
43:15directed to the victims of the magalin
43:17institutions here and with me here I've
43:20got marid and Maria is going to lead us
43:22in a short shamanic ceremony here to
43:26bring some peace
43:27and light to the souls that lie in this
43:30ground
43:32[Music]
43:39[Music]
43:49[Music]
44:01so Morin Looking Back Now what were the
44:05magin homes stre because for some people
44:07they were a refuge they knowwhere else
44:09to go it wasn't for you no it was not a
44:11refuge I don't think it was a refuge for
44:13anybody I think there were prisons I
44:16think there were cruel evil evil places
44:20that's what there were there were like a
44:23a Hitler regime that that's the way they
44:25were run there were prison and there
44:27were evil places and some people were
44:29taken there by priests yes some people
44:31were taken there by their own family
44:33yeah some people went willingly because
44:35they know where they put out the family
44:36home they know where else to go yes and
44:37others were taken unwillingly yeah and
44:40that's why they had bars on their
44:42Windows there was all was bars on them
44:44windows and they're only taken off of us
44:46in latter years but H there were prisons
44:49there weren't refuges in a refuge you
44:51get treated with a little bit of
44:52kindness and you're given a bed but
44:54that's what they thought they were going
44:55into to get a safe heaven and no no they
44:57put out the family home slaves they were
44:59brought in slaves to do all their work
45:01for them I mean the laundries that used
45:05with the laundry that we used to all the
45:07hotels that's right yeah and that was
45:09the governor the church you the prisons
45:11you had the hotels you had the schools
45:13you had the you had all restants and all
45:16the priest stuff from everywhere
45:19everywhere from knock and places right
45:21the Army and the Navy the Army and the
45:22Navy all the guard yes that's right and
45:26the reason that the could outbid anybody
45:28else because they had no labor charges
45:30exactly they were getting it free yeah
45:32they were getting it free so there were
45:34hell holes that's what the were
45:37morningin it's been lovely talking to
45:38you your book is just amazing thank you
45:41very much there thank you so world as a
45:44beacon of light thank you to reveal and
45:49a beacon of light that's lovely thank
45:51you all this trauma that is part of our
45:53history and part of our pres and no
45:55matter what people say we cannot shove
45:57it down and keep it down it's got to
45:59come out that's the only way we as a na
46:01can heal like an alcohol you got to miss
46:03first of all that you are an alcoholic
46:05yes we've got to admit we have something
46:07to heal what have you got to heal all
46:08this stuff that you're talking about and
46:10we cannot keep it hidden no it can't by
46:13hiding it we're never going to heal
46:16welcome welcome yeah Morin thank you
46:18very very much indeed thank you so much
46:21success this book it's a beautiful book
46:22oh thank you so much and I hope when
46:24people see this video they will see the
46:26beauty coming from you and the light
46:28shining out from your thank Forest
46:30you're just you're a beautiful being of
46:31flight oh thank you so much you suffered
46:33to get that and that's coming thank you
46:35so much just it just you're amazing
46:38thank you very much for listening
46:39everybody and until we meet again
46:42namaste
46:54[Music]
47:19[Music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Magdalene Laundry New Ross - interview with survivor Maureen Sullivan by Eileen McCourt (Eileen McCourt Author), generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 8,746 words across 1,169 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.