Flowers for Magdalenes

IMPORTANT NOTICE: CHANGE OF DATE FOR 2020 FLOWERS FOR MAGDALENES EVENTS 

After much consideration, the organisers of the Dublin event have decided to permanently change the date of Flowers for Magdalenes from March to early June. We will confirm the exact details as soon as we have them.

We took the decision to move the date because the weather has let us down in the past few years and we wish to ensure that Flowers for Magdalenes is as inclusive and accessible as possible. All updates will be posted to the Flowers for Magdalenes 2020 web page and the JFM Research Facebook group.

about flowers for magdalenes

At least 1,663 former Magdalene women are buried in cemeteries in Ireland, many of whom are in unmarked graves. Flowers for Magdalenes is the brainchild of Áine Downes of Sinn Féin Women, who approached JFMR (then JFM) in 2012, with a view to establishing an annual event to commemorate the women and girls who died in the Magdalene Laundries. It was agreed from the outset that the event would be non-political, and would centre around the simple act of laying flowers at Magdalene graves.

The first Flowers for Magdalenes events took place in 2012 in Dublin and Galway, and the event has grown each year, with new locations holding events as time has passed. Since 2016, all cities and towns where there were Magdalene Laundries have come together to visit Magdalene graves and lay a flower to honour the women who lived and died behind convent walls.

Photographs, videos and other materials from each year are available at the links below. We are still developing this section of the website and more materials will be added as they come to hand.