I 2013 the Irish government had to issue a formal apology to the thousands of women who had been abused by the religious orders at the Magdalene Laundries. Why - and how - did the Catholic Church manage to a make fortune without any interference from public authorities, while they systematically abused vulnerable women? Associate Professor Katherine ODonnell of University College Dublin is the principal investigator of the Magdalene Oral History Project and tells about the Magdalene women isn this podcast.