Youngest To Enter 9, Oldest 89… The Magdalene Laundry Report In Numbers

The report of the committee investigating the State involvement with the Magdalene Laundries between 1922 and 1996 has been published.

The report found that the Irish state does bear responsibility for the “enslavement” of thousands of Irish women, and the years of unpaid labour they were forced to carry out.

The Irish Examiner reports this morning that trade union SIPTU is planning to unite with advocacy groups representing survivors of the laundries in their fight for compensation.

This image shows the key numbers from the report.

Some key figures published revealed that in the 8,025 cases where it is known who referred the women, the State referred 2,124 of them.

There were 879 deaths in the laundries from 1922. The youngest to die was 15; the oldest was 95.

The average entry age of women in the Magdalene laundries was 23.8 yrs. The youngest to enter was nine years old, the oldest 89.