The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
“I AM FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE”
UN INVESTIGATES LISTOWEL WOMAN’S MAGDALENE TREATMENT
A LISTOWEL woman who says she was ‘imprisoned’ in a Magdalene Laundry by the State and denied justice is going to have her case investigated by the UN.
Elizabeth Coppin (70) has spent her entire life fighting for justice over what she says was the ‘imprisonment’ and ‘trafficking’ of women by the Irish State.
“The Irish judiciary, the church and the Irish Government all have one thing in common: not to hear the voices of the suppressed women whose human rights were violated,” said Elizabeth.
Elizabeth, who is originally from Listowel, was born in the ‘county home’ in Killarney in 1949. She was then sent to an Industrial School in Balloonagh, Tralee where she remained most of her life before being transferred to St Vincent’s Magdalene Laundry in Peacock Lane, Cork, after her 14th birthday. This transfer came in spite of a court order in place allowing her to remain in the school until the age of 16. The transfer, she also says, was sanctioned by the Department of Education and shows the state’s involvement in her detention.
She was subsequently detained in two further Magdalene Laundries before she was released prior to her 19th birthday in April 1968.
Elizabeth attempted to take a criminal case, giving a statement to gardaí in Tralee, as well as taking a civil case, but neither was progressed, in part due to the statute of limitations.
The State also refused to allow her to access any of the evidence gathered by the McAleese Committee, which in 2013 produced a report on State involvement with the Magdalene Laundries, she also says.
Elizabeth – who says she was ‘persecuted’ at the hands of the religious order, forced to work without pay and denied access to education – says she is still angry at her treatment at the hands of the state and the lack of justice she has received.
“The message is still that Ireland is not ready to hear the truth. The judiciary and the religious orders had an understanding to overlook the misdemeanours to our own Irish citizens. The Government as well.”
During her time at the Magdalene home, Elizabeth was locked in a padded cell for three days and nights over a theft allegation, and every night she and the other women were bolted into cells to sleep.
Elizabeth managed to run away from one of the laundries but was returned by the Irish Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC). In another laundry, she was forced to change her name.
“Sometimes I think they wouldn’t do this to another human being. I think, ‘did it really happen?... But it did, and they did. Yes they did do it.”
Mrs Coppin alleges that Ireland has broken its obligations under the Convention against Torture by not investigating complaints into her treatment
The state have argued that Mrs Coppin was detained prior to Ireland becoming a party to the UN Convention Against Torture in 2002. The State also argued that she should be barred from bringing her complaint because she had not first complained to the Irish courts.
However, United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) has given the state four months to give their views on her claims, and Mrs Coppin will then be allowed to reply before a ruling is made.
She has welcomed the step forward for justice. “It is a chance to breathe. I never thought this would happen. I am relieved and shocked. The Irish Government and the Church are against me. As long as Ireland doesn’t address its mistakes, it will never learn.
“It feels like the state is still abusing us today as they will not come out openly and honestly about what happened.”
Elizabeth says she will continue her fight for justice, no matter what it takes. The UN decision is only one step in the fight for justice for her and for all the other woman mistreated at the hands of the State, the religious orders and the judiciary, she says.
“I will never stop the fight for justice. Today is a positive day, but how positive remains to be seen,” she told The Kerryman.
She says that so much ‘lies and rhetoric’ have been told when what happened is that “women were trafficked” for financial gain and mistreated while under their care in breach of their human rights.
“They did this to citizens of Ireland.”
I WILL NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE. TODAY IS A POSITIVE DAY BUT HOW POSITIVE REMAINS TO BE SEEN. THIS IS A STEP IN THE FIGHT.