History of Unmarried Mothers Discrimination in Ireland

Going back to the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s for example having a child outside of Wed Lock was classed as “A Mortal Sin”.
Going to see the Magdalene Sisters in the cinema was enough to make my blood boil.  

Young Teenage girls who got pregnant out of innocence were blamed despite the fact in some cases was incest and rap.  The parents of those poor unfortunate women would dump them into those convents so the nuns could beat and batter those women. Even women in their 30s and 40s were admitted to these cruel driven convents under the circumstances of getting pregnant outside of marriage.

I once watched a 2 part series on BBC 1 called the Magdalene Laundries. There was a teacher in her 30s in that film who was admitted to the Magdalene Laundries and was treated in such an abominable manner by the nuns it drove her to committing suicide by throwing herself out the window and crashing her head.

Parents of these unfortunate women just could not accept the situation. Instead of standing by their daughters. They stood by what the neighbours would think.

With regards to the Film the Magdalene Sisters one of the characters got pregnant at a family wedding by her cousin! The Man always got away with it in those times. She was treated so badly. After she gave birth to the child, her parents just ignored her and a priest came to her explaining he was a bastard child and was going for adoption straight away. It was awful to see the poor girl cry and part with the baby, yet the parents completely disowned their daughter and left her in that horrible convent. It was just a matter of some nice prince charming to appear to the door of the convent to sign a victim out to marry her or a family member.

These women were abused so much by the nuns it was so horrifying to see them slave driven, scrubbing floors, washing bloody sheets eating horrible mass produced food. Despite the delicate condition these women were in, the cruelty was unbearable to even read or view it in the films.

Many young women lost their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination in the 20th Century until a law for equality in the work place came in. Proper order too.

My view on this pregnancy discrimination back in the mid 20th century was a disgrace and men were as much to blame in the long run but did not have to suffer the penalties women did of having to endure a similar prison sentence. My motto is it takes two to tango! Yet Sex Discrimination had a big role to play here.