Opinion

Survivors of Magdalene laundries shown due respect

The scenes in Dublin on Tuesday, when hundreds of people turned out to applaud survivors of the Magdalene laundries, were profoundly moving.

Many of the women who had been so cruelly incarcerated and mistreated over decades, seemed taken aback by the outpouring of support they received.

These were women who had lost their childhoods, were stigmatised by a harsh and judgmental society, left traumatised by their experiences and isolated from their families and communities.

It was certainly a day of mixed emotions for these victims, some of whom were infirm, many elderly.

Women had travelled from Australia, the United States and the UK, many of them returning to Ireland for the first time since leaving the laundries.

President Michael D Higgins struck precisely the right note in his speech to hundreds of survivors at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain.

He apologised to the women, saying they had been 'profoundly failed' by the state, by the institutions and the religious orders who ran them.

He told them: ''You were also failed by a society that actively colluded by their silence in your incarceration and treatment, or chose to look the other way, averted their gaze, as vulnerable girls and women were subjected, in so many cases, to further abuse and degradation.''

After the speech, the women were driven to the Mansion House where they were cheered by crowds who lined the pavements.

These events were significant because they demonstrated recognition and respect, from the highest level, for women who had been so comprehensively let down by the state, religious institutions and wider society.

Those who were hidden away and who effectively had no voice are now being heard - some of those in Dublin this week were speaking out for the first time.

Tuesday's events underline the importance of fully disclosing past misdeeds, of listening to victims and offering redress where possible.

It is just a pity it took so long to get to this point, something that should be given cognisance in Northern Ireland where victims of historical abuse are still waiting for compensation and support.

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