The Sisters of Charity and the family of a woman who alleged in a bestselling book that she was sexually abused during years in a Magdalen laundry have vigorously challenged her claims.
Dubliner Kathy O'Beirne's book, Don't Ever Tell: Kathy's Story - A True Tale of a Childhood Destroyed by Neglect and Fear, was published in 2005 by Mainstream Publishing and has sold over 300,000 copies in the UK. It was ghost-written by Michael Sheridan.
In a blurb for the book, Mainstream said Kathy O'Beirne had spent nearly 14 years in a Magdalen laundry where, it alleged, she was sexually abused and beaten. It said that when she rebelled she was classified as mentally ill and transferred to a mental hospital where abuse continued. It claimed that at 13 she was raped in another laundry and the baby born subsequently died and was buried in a mass grave.
In a statement yesterday the Sisters of Charity repeated that all four religious congregations which ran Magdalen laundries confirmed as far back as 2004 that Kathy O'Beirne never spent any time in the laundries. "The only time Kathy O'Beirne spent with us was for a six-week period in a reformatory school for young people," they said.
At a press conference in Dublin yesterday five of Kathy O'Beirne's siblings produced a detailed account of where she was in the years she claimed to be in a Magdalen laundry. A statement signed by Oliver, Eamonn, Mary, Margaret, John, Tommy and Brian O'Beirne said "our sister was not in a Magdalen laundry or Magdalen home".
"She was in St Anne's Children's Home, Kilmacud, St Loman's psychiatric hospital, Mountjoy prison, and Sherrard House for homeless people. Our parents placed her in St Anne's for a brief period when she was 11 because of behavioural difficulties," they said.
They denied their sister was pregnant at 13 or gave birth at 14. "Our sister, to our knowledge, was not raped by two priests, and did not receive an out-of-court settlement for the same," they said. They rejected her "horrific allegations of child abuse against our father, a religious congregation, and a psychiatric hospital" .
They dismissed as "totally untrue" weekend statements by Bill Campbell of Mainstream Publishing that he had checked their sister's story with the congregations running the laundries.
Mr Campbell's assertion was also challenged by the Sisters of Charity. They said that on April 21st, 2005, their solicitors wrote to Michael Sheridan following articles he had written linking Kathy O'Beirne to Magdalen laundries and homes. A copy of the letter was sent to Mainstream. "In the letter it was categorically stated the only time Kathy O'Beirne spent with us was for a six-week period in a reformatory school for young people. We received a curt response to this letter from Mr Bill Campbell of Mainstream dated 11th of May 2005," they said.
Kathy O'Beirne has already rejected the claims of her family and of the nuns.