Cork Magdalene site findings require investigation

A number of ‘features’ that require further archaeological investigation have been discovered at the site of the Sunday’s Well Magdalene Laundry in Cork.

Cork Magdalene site findings require investigation

A number of ‘features’ that require further archaeological investigation have been discovered at the site of the Sunday’s Well Magdalene Laundry in Cork, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.

Over the last few months, a team of archaeologists has been examining the former Good Shepherd convent site, under licences from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in conjunction with the National Museum.

The examination is part of a request for further information in relation to a planning application for the proposed redevelopment of the site.

Last February, Moneda Developments sought permission to provide 234 apartments in a project incorporating existing orphanage, convent, and Magdalene home buildings.

The Irish Examiner understands an initial examination, using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and other techniques, uncovered a number of features which could not be clearly interpreted, alongside evidence of agricultural activity.

The results of this examination were relayed to Cork City Council, and other statutory bodies, and a second, more intensive, series of archaeological tests was agreed to clarify the nature of these features.

This was carried out under a separate licence from the Department and the National Museum and was concluded earlier this week.

The excavations at the site were monitored by a number of archaeological site directors and a specialist osteoarchaeologist.

Trial trenches were excavated and soil was scanned, sieved, and sampled for small finds and environmental remains.

A number of Celtic cross-shaped filials, originally on the roof of the building, were also recovered.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council declined to comment on the findings of the excavations.

“The details submitted will be subject to full archaeological assessment, as part of the consideration of the planning application. It would be inappropriate for Cork City Council to give out commentary on the status of our deliberations, before a final assessment is done,” she said.

The Magdalene grave at the site contains the names of just 30 women who died between 1882 and 1973. The grave was unmarked until the late 1990s, when the order agreed to erect a headstone, following a campaign by a former resident of the laundry.

However, in 2013, the Irish Examiner revealed that the grave had been badly vandalised and is inaccessible, behind an eight-feet-high wall and gates that are welded shut.

It remains in that condition today.

Some of the women listed on the headstone are also listed as being buried at another graveyard in Cork.

This story originally appeared in the Irish Examiner.

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