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	Nuns Set to Sue Author over Her Bestseller Claim of Abuse 'Hell' By Dearbhail McDonald Irish Independent September 13, 2006 http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1687012&issue_id=14635 AN order of nuns embroiled in a dispute over a bestselling biography detailing harrowing abuse in a Magdalen laundry is on a legal collision course with its author. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, one of four Irish religious orders who ran the now closed homes, has asked a Dublin legal firm to investigate - with a view to launching civil proceedings - claims by Kathy O'Beirne that she was abused while in the care of its nuns. Ms O'Beirne's book, 'Kathy's Story: A Childhood Hell in The Magdalene Laundries', has become a surprise non-fiction best-seller in Ireland and Britain, selling over 350,000 copies. Debate But the book, which has been snapped up by a host of international publishers, has been the subject of widespread debate about the veracity of its central claim that Ms O'Beirne was abused - or that she was ever resident in one of the infamous homes. "A Dublin legal firm has been engaged by the order to examine all the issues surrounding books published by Kathy O'Beirne," a spokesperson for the order confirmed last night. Ms O'Beirne, who defended the contents of 'Kathy's Story' earlier this week during an RTE interview, was unavailable for comment last night. As sales of the book rocketed during the summer, a backlash against Ms O'Beirne ensued, led by members of her own family and former 'Maggies' who lived at the homes. A website has even been set up on the internet to dispute the author's controversial claims. In her book, Ms O'Beirne claims to have spent nearly 14 years in Magdalene laundries where she said she was sexually abused, beaten and repeatedly raped. The Dubliner also claimed she gave birth to a child as a result of these rapes. The child later died in the care of a religious order, she said. Significantly, Ms O'Beirne does not name any of the laundries in which she was allegedly incarcerated, citing "legal reasons". But last year, Ms O'Beirne was interviewed by journalist Vincent Browne's on his RTE radio show in June 22 last year. During the interview, she made the claim of being physically and sexually abused while in a Magdalene laundry, and that she had become pregnant. She mentioned the laundry at High Park, and also claimed to have been a resident at a Magdalene laundry on Sean McDermott St. Both of these laundries were run by the sisters. The order strenuously denied the claim and asked its lawyers to examine the transcript of the radio interview. It also filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Commission. A sequel to 'Kathy's Story' is pending, and Mainstream - the firm who published the book - have sold the rights to publishers, in Australia, America and Sweden.
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