A family legacy uncovered

I’ve always been fascinated with the stories of my ancestors, but some family secrets take a lifetime to emerge. One such story revolves around my grandaunt, Elizabeth (Eliza) Nolan, and her daughter, Margaret - a tale marked by loss, resilience, and a family’s journey toward reconnection and remembrance.

Childhood memories and simple beginnings

When the 1911 census was being collated, Elizabeth Nolan was just six years old. A farmer’s daughter from Gurteen, near Killeigh in Co. Offaly, she grew up surrounded by her eight siblings, with my paternal grandfather Patrick being the closest to her in age. The Nolans lived a modest rural life, and the highlight of their early years included witnessing the first car ever to drive down their road—a Ford Model T belonging to Lord Dunraven of Limerick.

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He visited their family farm to see their tobacco-curing shed, a moment that must have filled the community with awe and excitement. Although the tobacco shed no longer remains, it's easy to picture young Elizabeth's wide, curious eyes as the first car rolled into their yard!

Aside from demolishing the old house and constructing a new bungalow in 1987, little has changed on Nolan’s farm. It remains an idyllic setting, with the Slieve Bloom Mountains standing prominently in the backdrop as you walk through the fields.

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Echoes from the past

My cousin Sonny, who now runs the family farm, often shared stories passed down from his father, Tommy, Elizabeth’s brother. One such story involved two hammers that mysteriously disappeared while the roof of the old house was being galvanized in 1917. For decades, the hammers remained missing, only to be discovered in the roof space when the house was demolished in 1987. Elizabeth, who had lived there during that time, passed away just a year after the hammers resurfaced.

A life marked by tragedy and exile

Elizabeth’s life took a dramatic turn at the age of 21 when she discovered she was pregnant. In the conservative society of 1926, being an unwed mother was scandalous. Although she was in a relationship with a local man, both families opposed the idea of marriage, preferring to avoid the scandal rather than support the couple.

The Nolans, fearing the shame it would bring upon their family, sent Elizabeth away to Dublin, and she never saw her parents again. Her existence was hidden, and she was forced to face the world alone.

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The forgotten years in Dublin

On a dark November day, Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, Margaret, but they only had four short months together before being permanently separated.

Elizabeth’s baby was fostered by Catherine Paxton, a kind-hearted nurse in Kilmainham, Dublin, who had taken in several other children.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was confined to the harsh conditions of the Magdalene Laundry at Gloucester Street Convent, a place synonymous with cruelty and hardship. Although some family members, including my grandfather, quietly visited her, others maintained a painful silence. My grandfather would travel to Dublin for these secret visits, never revealing whom he was seeing, a mystery that puzzled my mother until he eventually confessed decades later.

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A secret finally revealed

In the early 1970s, the long-kept family secret came to light. My grandfather gathered his adult children and revealed that he had a sister, Elizabeth, who had a child out of wedlock. For nearly 50 years, the family had never spoken of her, and the revelation prompted my father, Tom and late uncle John to seek her out.

They finally reconnected with Elizabeth, who had endured over five decades of harsh life in the laundry. My uncle John ensured she felt loved and included, often bringing her to his home in Dublin for Christmas. Our family in Tullamore began building a relationship with Elizabeth - fondly called Lizzie - eight years before her passing.

Rekindling a relationship with Lizzie

I have faint memories of visiting Lizzie at the laundry as a young child. The building’s grey walls and imposing exterior remain etched in my mind. Despite her advanced age and the trauma she had endured, Lizzie welcomed us, though the pain of her past was evident. I still recall the sorrowful sobs she let out as we left one day, a sound that echoed her many years of isolation.

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The heroic sacrifice of Margaret Nolan

During one visit to the laundry, we found Lizzie already in the company of visitors - children of her daughter Margaret's foster sister, Josephine. Over the years, they had remained close to Lizzie, a bond with a poignant reason behind it.

Margaret’s life, though brief, was marked by incredible bravery. On July 30, 1936, she heroically saved her foster sister Josephine Gallagher from drowning in the River Liffey, near their home in Kilmainham. Tragically, Margaret’s own life was lost in the process, and at just nine years old, she was gone.

According to a report, "Maureen Byrne, 17 Old Kilmainham, age 7 years, stated that she was playing on the riverbank with Margaret Nolan and Josie Gallagher when the latter fell into the water. Margaret Nolan jumped in to save her and caught her…" Maureen Byrne shouted to some boys who were passing by a short time previously; they ran back, but despite their struggle, it was ultimately too late; while Josie was rescued, Margaret Nolan drowned.

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Garda Síochána (METROPOLITAN DIVISION)

District: Kilmainham Station

Date: 31st July 1936

To: Dr Shanley, Acting City Coroner

Margaret Mary Nolan, aged 10 years, drowned in the River Liffey.

І beg to report that at 6.50 pm on 30th July 1936, a telephone message was received at this station from Maxwell, Islandbridge, saying that Henry Maughan, caretaker, The Memorial Park, Islandbridge, requested them to inform the Police that two little girls fell into the Liffey a short time previous near the University Boat Club, and one was rescued and the other was drowned, and requested that the ambulance be sent for.

The ambulance was telephoned for, and Gardaí Hannon, 124 and Egan, 46, went to the place immediately and were informed by Henry Maughan, Shenmalier Rd., Church Rd., that three boys informed him that two little girls had fallen into the river earlier and that they pulled out one, but the other one drowned.

He pointed out the place the boys showed him where the girls fell in. The ambulance then arrived, and driver Christopher Kelly and Fireman Thomas Potts, Tara Street Station, stripped off and dived in several times but could not locate the body.

Sergeant Seery, 17A, who also went to the place, procured boats from the Local Boat Clubs and grappling irons and, with the assistance of some civilians, dragged the river and, at 9:45 pm on the same date, recovered the body a short distance from where she fell in.

The body was later conveyed to The City Morgue. At 6:30 pm, same date, Rory Breslin, 23 Brookfield Road, aged 14 years, called to this station and stated that in company with Joe Colgan, 6 Adelaide Terrace, aged 12 yrs, and Daniel Fitzgerald, 18 Adelaide Terrace, aged 12 years. He was walking along the bank of the Liffey, and when opposite the Police Boat Club, he saw three little girls on the bank of the river. They were rubbing mud on their legs and washing it off again.

Shortly after passing them, one of the girls ran after them and said that the other two girls had fallen into the river. They went back and saw the two girls struggling in the water. They tried to reach them but couldn't, and Joe Colgan lay down on the bank and held out his legs, and by that means, they succeeded in bringing in one of the girls. In the meantime, the other girl disappeared.

They saw no other person near the place at the time, until a woman came along with a perembulater (pram), and she took the rescued girl away, They afterwards met the caretaker and told him. Joe Colgan and Daniel Fitzpatrick corroborated Breslin's statement.

Josephine Gallagher, 79 0ld Kilmainham, aged 4 years, the rescued girl after receiving first aid at the University Boat Club, was taken home in the ambulance. Maureen Byrne, 17, 0ld Kilmainham, aged 7 years, who was in the deceased's company, stated that she was playing on the river bank with Margaret Nolan and Josephine Gallagher.

Honouring the Memories of Elizabeth and Margaret

Decades later, my sister Tara embarked on a painstaking search to find Margaret's grave, which took seven years. This was a challenging task. She searched through the 1.5 million graves at Glasnevin cemetery and nineteen other city graveyards. In 2014, she finally located Margaret's grave at Bluebell Cemetery in Dublin. She honoured Margaret's legacy with a commemorative cross and also ensured that the others laid to rest alongside Margaret in the same plot were named on the cross.

Today, as we remember Elizabeth, Margaret, and all the women and children who suffered in the Magdalene laundries, I feel both sadness and a deep sense of duty. Lizzie and Margaret deserve to be remembered, and their stories must be told.

My grandaunt, Lizzie, passed away on February 17, 1988, at the age of 83. True to her final wish, she was buried in her native Offaly alongside her parents. Just eight years after her death, the Magdalene Laundry on Sean McDermott Street finally closed its doors, but the scars it left behind remain.

On November 19, 2015, as I worked to complete this piece, I felt an inexplicable urgency to complete it before midnight. Minutes after publishing it on my blog, I looked at Margaret's birth certificate and realised that day would have been her 89th birthday - a bittersweet coincidence but one that felt like their spirits were willing me on.

The next day, my tears flowed freely, yet they didn’t feel like mine alone. It was as if they were my grandaunt Lizzie’s, tears of relief and peace, knowing her family is proud, committed to sharing her story, and determined that she and little Margaret will never be forgotten. I’m especially grateful to and proud of my sister, Tara, for never giving up until she found where Margaret was buried back in 1936. Kevin Street Library was an incredible help to her, and the staff member there was visibly moved, with tears in his eyes, as he witnessed Tara’s heartbreak while reading Margaret’s final moments.

Elizabeth’s life was one of silent endurance within the walls of the Magdalene Laundry, while Margaret’s was a brief but brave existence, marked by a final act of selflessness. For too long, their stories were buried in silence and sorrow. But now, they are no longer hidden, no longer forgotten. We remember Elizabeth and Margaret for their resilience and courage—a reminder of the countless voices that were silenced but deserve to be heard. Their stories are of utmost importance, as they are a part of our shared history. They are, at last, free.

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Please to join me in this mission, to remember and share similar stories, and to keep Lizzie, Margaret, and all the women's and children's memories alive.

Thank you ♡