Galway Bay fm newsroom - The freedom of Galway city has been awarded to two women for their work helping those who passed through the Magdalene Laundries.
Last evening, councillors unanimously supported a motion from Mayor Collette Connolly to bestow the honour on Patricia Burke Brogan and Ena McEntee.
Patricia Burke Brogan is a playwright, novelist, poet and artist who is widely recognised as being one of the first people to tell the story of the laundries.
Her experiences as a young nun at the Magdalene Laundry at Forster Street turned her away from her path of serving in the Order of the Mercy Sisters.
City-native Ena McEntee, who passed away in 1986, became friendly with women working in the laundry after working alongside them.
With support from her husband, children and neighbours in Mervue, she helped over 15 women escape the laundry.
Speaking to Sally-Ann Barrett, Mayor of Galway Collette Connolly says both women deserve to be recognised for their enormous contributions...
