'Irresponsible and psychotic' – How Ireland's asylums of the 1950s stigmatised child sexual abuse victims
In the 1950s, Ireland had the highest proportion of psychiatric beds in the world. Why did we lock up so many people over their mental-health issues?
The old Grangegorman mental hospital. Photo: INM
Colin Murphy
Naming the major Irish scandals of the past 20 years would sound like a checklist of Irish institutions. The industrial schools: check. The Magdalene laundries: check. The mother and baby homes: check. The religious-run private schools: check. The prisons (slopping out): check.
Latest Comment
Sophie White: The most stressful house guests are not your in-laws, but the kid on the playdate
-
Brighid McLaughlin: No good ever came of using Frytex as a suntan lotion
-
Brendan O’Connor: Even Rory is a slave to the empty suits
-
Simona Mocuta: We may have to roll with the punches if inflation begins to swing wildly
-
Julia Molony: Loneliness is another modern lifestyle ‘disease’ we must eradicate
-
Eilis O’Hanlon: Allowing the dying and despairing to end their lives with dignity is fraught with moral risks
-
Conor Skehan: Misfortune will blow our way if we rely on wind turbines for almost all our electricity
-
Fiona O’Connell: Beauty and biodiversity are all bull to the powers that be
-
Gene Kerrigan: Siteserv inquiry has cost €19m, and we’re still none the wiser
-
Shane Ross: Runners on their marks for Áras race, with three backable early candidates
Top Stories
Melbourne tennis club outlines devastation Irish coach left behind
Shane Ross: Runners on their marks for Áras race, with three backable early candidates
Live | Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final: Kilkenny v Galway
'Irresponsible and psychotic' – How Ireland's asylums of the 1950s stigmatised child sexual abuse victims
Latest NewsMore
Love Islander pulled in different directions as boys compete for her affections
Naked Attraction is not being cancelled after ad-market downturn, Channel 4 says
Harry Styles hailed a ‘legend’ for helping fan during Slane Castle gig
Limerick 1-23 Clare 1-22, player ratings: Aaron Gillane the star of the show in Treaty win
Breaking | Limerick secure five-in-a-row Munster titles but victory over battling Clare shrouded in late controversy
Economist Ashoka Mody says he is ‘sceptical’ about Ireland’s expected economic growth of 5.5pc
Michael Fassbender crashes out of 24 Hours of Le Mans race
Man City fans forced to ‘urinate and vomit’ out of buses as Uefa condemned for final shambles
Women of Honour group urges wide-ranging terms for Defence Forces abuse inquiry
Love Islander pulled in different directions as boys compete for her affections