A Magdalene Rose

Interwoven across this book's pages are four lives, whose own secrets, bound by promises, are finally exposed; these are the secrets of the Scaradh Magdalene. Revealed is the separation or segregation of women and children, into a cruel and unforgiving existence, beyond a life promised by a new Republic. From the Irish diaspora, a son discovers the secrets of a father's pain, a mother's conflict. It is a journey into the heart of what we mean by home and Irish identity.

Stretching across fourteen years, a son seeks the truth following a solemn promise made, both in life and in death; a promise to find truth and justice. Journeying across the length & breadth of Ireland, we discover the remarkable story flowing from the birth of Frank in 1930, his survival, and subsequent marriage to Annie-Kate, who became the guardian of his secrets. A connection to a long-lost and unknown family, along with personal remnants of their lives, leading to the story of a mother, Mary, incarcerated without due process for 42 years, and of her partner, Patrick, suffering in the invisibility of his fatherhood, lost and isolated, bringing a son's family alive from behind a veil of secrets, promises & lies. But it is the discovery of Mary's friend from her captivity that provides a window into a life of an inmate and small rebellions, all under the watchful eyes of the untouchable sanctity of their religious guardians. Mary's life from the birth of her son, reveals hard labour, obligatory obedience, disenfranchisement and a loss of her personal identity. The effects of this 'Magdalen' remodelling, is seen through her first visit outside a Magdalen Laundry's walls, months before her death, into the Ireland of her hopes and dreams; her identity was never lost. A friend's feelings of bitterness and regret are balanced by the gentleness and compassion of a Mary revealed and only met through the memory of a survivor.

Through this incarceration, we are able to witness the underbelly of indifference and frustration when dealing with Irish Church & State Authorities, leading to the stunning realisation that as in life, Mary's death is cheap, untruthful and disrespectful. Can Mary finally return home or is she truly lost; is Patrick still invisible; has a son satisfied his promise to Frank and helped release Annie-Kate from a lifetime of secrecy, or are all these experiences forfeited in the annals of official Ireland? It is a story 100 years in the making. It delivers joy, tears, and discovery of what it is to be Human, to be Irish. It is a story of Ireland and of a Magdalene Rose and many women like her. It is the ultimate journey home.