Madness Monday - Magdalene Asylums

Asylum - late middle english (in the sense of 'place of refuge', especially for criminals): via Latin from Greek asulon 'refuge', from asulos 'inviolable', from a-'without' + sulon 'right of seizure'. Current senses date from the 18th century (Oxford Dictionary).
The obvious asylums are those for the mentally ill, the large institutions we have all heard about, e.g. Bethlem (Bedlam) Hospital in London. But those are for another day. Today I am going to write about the Magdalene Asylums.
Magdalene Asylums, you say, what are they? Well, read on and I will try to paint a picture for you.
Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, where institutions from the 18th to the late 20th centuries ostensibly to house 'fallen women', a term used to imply female sexual promiscuity or work in prostitution. The institutions were named after the Biblical character Mary Magdalene, in earlier centuries characterised as a reformed prostitute. (Wikipedia)

Magdalene Asylum, Cork Ireland