Sadness at passing of playwright who shed light on Magdalene Laundry horrors

BY Declan Varley

Galway Advertiser, Thu, Sep 08, 2022

Playwright Patricia Burke Brogan pictured at the Magdalen Women Memorial, Forster Street. Photo:-Mike Shaughnessy

The funeral takes place tomorrow in the city of the celebrated artist, playwright, novelist and poet, Patricia Burke Brogan who passed away in Castlegar Nursing Home earlier this week.

Ms Burke Brogan’s play Eclipsed, which premiered thirty years ago in Galway, highlighted her experiences as a young nun working alongside residents in the former Magdelene laundry at Forster Street in Galway, and brought the horrific exploitative reality of life in the laundries to a wide audience.

Earlier this year, Ms Burke Brogan was awarded the Freedom of Galway City for the work she did in shedding light on a dark aspect of Irish life, and in particular on how women were treated over the last century. Both she and the late Ena McEntee were awarded the honour for their work in protecting and assisting the residents. A plaque was unveiled to honour the two women close to the site where the laundry was located.