Show Notes
To mark the release of Cillian Murphy's new film Small Things Like These, Steven sat down with actress Eileen Walsh to discuss her role in the movie and the working relationship she has with Cillian. Eileen's career spans over 30 years, with her breakthrough performance coming in Enda Walsh's play Disco Pigs.
This bonus episode explores Eileen's work to date, her long-standing friendship with Cillian and why she felt compelled to take on another role that focused on the Magdalene laundry subject 22 years after she first appeared in The Magdalene Sisters. Small Things Like These is in cinemas nationwide starting Friday, November 1st. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Magdalenes and I
On Tuesday, 19 February 2013, the Irish Government offered an unreserved apology to survivors of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries. Steven and the women he worked with led the charge to secure such an outcome. However, will Steven get the Stanhope Street laundry in Dublin and the Summerhill laundry in Wexford included, or will all his work for those women be in vain? This episode goes behind the scenes to reveal what it was like for Steven and the women in the weeks leading up to the state apology. It details Steven's work to have the women's stories amplified and explains how their drive to achieve their ultimate goal was realised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On 3rd July 2013, Steven and the Magdalene women were invited to Áras an Uachtaráin to meet with the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins; here, he acknowledged the work Steven and the women had done in securing a state apology. The President asks Steven to say a few words about the journey he and the women went on before he addresses Steven and the women. RTE News correspondent Joe Little caught these intimate moments on camera, and this episode gives the listener a unique insight into the women's reaction and what Steven and the President said on that day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On February 5, 2013, Senator Martin McAleese published his findings on State Interaction in Ireland's Magdalene Laundries. As Steven and the women prepare for the report's publication, the political reaction leaves the Magdalene survivors reeling. Steven and the women find themselves front and centre of this storm. Now, they ask themselves, was their campaign for justice all in vain, or will the women and Steven triumph against the odds? This episode includes survivor testimony from Magdalene survivor Josephine Meade, and some listeners may find that interview upsetting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In Steven's pursuit of justice for the women in Ireland's Magdalene Laundries, he sets up the Magdalene Survivors Together group. A support network that brings the women closer and allows them to build friendships with each other. This group becomes the driving force for their political campaign and enables the survivors to prepare for their next meeting with the Minister for Justice. Separately, Steven begins working with Frank Buttimmer, solicitors, in Cork on exploring the possibility of taking a class action against the State if they fail to acknowledge the women's suffering. Their meeting with the Minister changes everything. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.