Latest news with #Magdalene
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Heartbreaking to watch' – RTE viewers left stunned by ‘powerful' Housewife of the Year documentary
RTE viewers were left stunned after watching the "powerful" and "heartbreaking" Housewife of the Year documentary. The documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Ciaran Cassidy, had its Irish TV premiere on 2 Housewife of the Year had its Irish TV premiere on RTE One last night Credit: Instagram 2 The documentary sparked a strong reaction from RTE viewers Credit: Instagram It looked back at the "shocking" Housewife of the Year competition, which ran from 1968 to 1995. The annual contest saw women from across the country compete for the title live on national television. The competition celebrated "cookery, nurturing, and basic household management skills" - but what was shown on screens didn't always reflect the reality of life for Irish women at the time. The read more on RTE Former contestants told the story of a resilient generation of women and how they changed a country. Many recalled their direct experiences of marriage bars, lack of contraception, Magdalene laundries, financial vulnerability, boredom and shame, all while being contestants in the competition. From 1982 onwards, the competition aired on RTE and featured not just the contest itself but also footage of the women at home. The documentary has sparked a strong reaction from RTE viewers as many took to READ MORE ON THE IRISH SUN Sylvia said: "It's sad and frustrating, upsetting, limiting, suppressive for a generation who had to stay at home and look after the family." Keith wrote: "What an awful country we lived in back then, shocking." 'That's when panic set in' - Watch Camogie ace & gold medallist's scary cliff moment on Death Road in RTE's Uncharted Marc commented: "Watching Housewife of the Year. Incredibly well put together Irish documentary. Is it shocking? I'd say infuriating." 'INCREDIBLE WOMEN' Grace said: "Housewife of the Year was a masterpiece of contextualisation - such a clever way to present Ireland of the time. "These diverse women's stories a microcosm of Irish society. So glad they got the opportunity to share their lived experiences since." Joanne wrote: "Had the privilege of seeing this at the Toronto Irish Film Festival this winter. "Such a powerful, sobering, film. More power to these incredible women. To all women." Another added: "Heartbreaking to watch these stories being told. What some of these women have been put through."
Global News
30-04-2025
- Global News
Neighbours worry after Vancouver assault suspect released to their building
Residents of a South Vancouver housing co-op say they're concerned the suspect in the random attack of a tourist on the city's seawall is being released to live in their building. Meanwhile, others, including the suspect's family, are wondering why he was released from custody following an alleged domestic violence incident two days before the assault, when they say he needed help for his mental illness. 'If he can't go home to his wife and children, why can he come here where there are children?' asked housing co-op resident Roxanne Sukhan. 2:09 Family of man accused in Downtown Vancouver stranger attack speaks Sukhan lives on the same floor of the building as assault suspect Peterhans Nungu's mother, Nungu Magdalene. Story continues below advertisement Magdalene has mobility challenges, and Sukhan is concerned she will not be supported in the court-ordered decision for her 34-year-old son to live with her under strict conditions, including 24/7 house arrest. 'I get the balance, you don't want to lock everyone up,' said Sukhan. 'If he decided to stop taking his medications and he became belligerent, how will she manage that? How is she going to make him do anything?' Magdalene told Global News that on April 13, Nungu, who was being treated in the community as an outpatient after experiencing a mental health crisis a year earlier, was agitated and off his medications while at home with his wife and three children. She said his family called police for help. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The Surrey Police Service said the RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit attended a residence regarding threats between a man and a woman. Nungu was arrested and charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and damage property, as well as with assaulting a peace officer. He was released from custody on April 14 on six conditions – including no contact with two alleged victims, and staying away from his home in Surrey. 'He's supposed to be in the hospital not in the jail,' Magdalene told Global News in an interview on Thursday. 'He was released and thrown to the streets with a restriction not to go to his house.' Story continues below advertisement Hours later, Nungu was arrested again and charged with assault causing bodily harm after a Toronto woman was attacked on the Vancouver seawall near Stanley Park just after midnight on April 15. 'We are all devastated,' Magdalene said. 'We are all broken down mentally.' 2:06 Tourist beaten in alleged random attack in Downtown Vancouver Surrey-Cloverdale Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko, who serves as B.C.'s opposition public safety critic, wonders if opportunities to intervene were missed – given the family's indications that Nungu was in a mental health crisis and no longer taking medications for his mental illness. 'It certainly begs the question why in the first instance wasn't a mental assessment taken then,' Sturko told Global News Tuesday. 'Some people fall through the cracks, unfortunately,' said Amanda Butler, an assistant professor with SFU's criminology department. Story continues below advertisement Butler told Global News the options for judges in cases like this are limited. 'The Mental Health Act is a health system law, it's not a criminal justice system tool,' she said in an interview on Tuesday. Butler said judges can ask for an accused to undergo a psychiatric assessment at a bail hearing but it's quite rare, and almost exclusively occurs in cases where a person may not be fit to stand trial or is a potential candidate for an application to be declared not criminally responsible by way of a mental disorder (NCRMD). 2:25 More details into Vancouver Lapu Lapu Day suspect's mental state The vast majority of people with mental illnesses will go through the regular court system Butler said, and she would love to see more comprehensive psych assessments at the bail stage of the criminal justice system. Story continues below advertisement She added that while judges can include conditions related to mental health in their release orders, for example, to attend counselling, they cannot force an involuntary hospitalization under the Mental Health Act. 'The reality is that for a very, very small portion of people who have a mental illness, their mental health issues intersect with their criminal justice needs and we don't have great intersection between those systems,' Butler said. Magdalene said she was surprised to get a call on the morning of April 15 alerting her that her son was in jail again when she thought he would have been taken to the hospital for help. 'Now I'm so devastated about all what happened because he was not taken at the right time to the mental hospital,' Magdalene told Global News Thursday. In a recent TikTok video, the tourist who Nungu is accused of assaulting said she hopes he adheres to his strict bail conditions and gets the resources and support he needs. 'And I hope that no one else is harmed, including his own family,' she stated.
Global News
25-04-2025
- Global News
Family of accused tourist seawall attacker say they are ‘devastated' by events
The mother of the suspect in a random attack on a tourist in Vancouver told Global News that the family is devastated to hear what happened. The victim was visiting from Toronto when she said she was randomly attacked by a man on the seawall on April 15. Peterhans Jalo Nungu was charged with assault causing bodily harm and was released on Wednesday on 10 conditions including reporting to his bail supervisor within one day of his release, he must live at a home in South Vancouver under house arrest and can only leave for court or medical appointments, he cannot have any contact with the victim, he cannot posses weapons, consume drugs or alcohol and he must attend psychiatric intake assessment or treatment program to forensic psychiatric services. His mother, Nungu Magdalene, told Global News that her son was in a 'mentally ill condition' on Sunday, April 13, and they called the police to help take him to the hospital. Story continues below advertisement Surrey Police Service confirmed that they were called on April 13 to a home in Surrey for reports of a man threatening a woman. The RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit attended, and Nungu was arrested and charged with assaulting a peace officer, uttering threats and uttering threats to damage property, but his mother said her son was experiencing a mental health episode and needed help. 2:06 Tourist beaten in alleged random attack in Downtown Vancouver Magdalene said the family had asked that he be taken to the hospital to be treated for mental health, and they were shocked to learn he had been taken to jail. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'He was acting because of his case, his situation, and that's why we needed help. And the help was given in the wrong way, and look at where we are now,' she said. Story continues below advertisement 'He was supposed to be taken to the hospital, that's why we call(ed) for help.' Magdalene said that her son suffered a mental health crisis a year ago, but he was getting help and treatment. However, he suffered a setback recently, which led to the recent events. 'We are so psychologically troubled, traumatized, we couldn't sleep since that Saturday, we are all suffering from anxiety,' Magdalene said. She added that her son is in a psychiatric hospital now. B.C. Premier David Eby was asked about the most recent attack, on April 15, and said that while he didn't know all the details, he found the incident 'deeply disturbing.' 'Obviously serious concerns about (the) mental health of the individual,' Eby said. 'I'm very hopeful there will be interventions to ensure this individual does not repeat this cycle of violence.' Magdalene said she wants her son to get the help he needs and deserves, and said he was released to a mental health hospital on Wednesday, where he remains. 'I am devastated about what has happened to all the parties who are concerned,' she said. Story continues below advertisement 'And all our mental health and our own anxiety, we are all devastated. We are all broken down mentally.'
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Cruel legacy of Ireland's mother and baby homes
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's article on the enduring pain caused by the church-run mother-and-baby homes in Ireland was a powerful read, leaving me full of anger and indignation (Ireland's mother-and-baby homes are a stain on the Catholic church – but this latest refusal to atone is a new low, 13 April). The stories resonated with me too. These 'homes' played a role in the Dublin childhoods of my aunt and mother. My aunt's experiences were heartbreaking: in the late 1960s, she was effectively imprisoned in a home for 'fallen women', her baby taken from her for adoption almost immediately after birth. It's a loss that stayed with her for the rest of her life. My mother's experiences reflected the general poverty and cruelty of Irish society in the late 1940s. Desperately hungry and neglected, brutalised by her brother who'd returned from the second world war with PTSD, she ran away from home and presented herself at a Magdalene laundry. Although she was subjected to a demeaning medical examination to see if she was pregnant (she wasn't) and made to work long hours, the laundry provided her with a better standard of living than she'd hitherto known – regular meals, a bed free of vermin and, paradoxically, given the reputation of the laundries, freedom from physical violence. Her life must have been truly miserable if a laundry was preferable to her family home. Ireland was such a cruel place that my mother escaped to England aged just 16. Her experiences, I'm sure, are why my family never holidayed in the 'old country' or wore shamrocks on Saint Patrick's Day. Name and address supplied The intergenerational damage done by the Catholic church lives on. Remember that church leaders attributed imbecilic behaviour and muteness to children born outside wedlock. To be such a child meant that your chances of living a decent life after being in any institution of shame (mother-and-baby home, industrial school, Magdalene laundry, mental health institution) was zero. No employer would hire you and your chances of marriage were low. And your chances of looking at the world through the bars of a prison cell or mental institution were a lot higher unless you could keep your secret – an impossibility in a country made up of hundreds of small insular towns. And, of course, the men got off scot-free, with no blemish on their reputations. They thrived, while sowing their oats. Not so the young, single and vulnerable girls during a time of reproductive health ignorance. Their families, overwhelmed with the church's currency of shame, threw them to the wolves. Why do you think more Irish women emigrated to the UK than Irish men? And the good nuns have the gall to say 'It wasn't me'.Rosemary C AdaserNortholt, London Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is right about the Magdalene laundries being a stain on the church. But it was families who sent their daughters to those places. My father remembered illegitimate children in 1950s Mayo being given to families to work on their farms, effectively as slave labour. The dysfunction and evil in Ireland was across the board. It's too easy to pin it all on priests and nuns, as if they were separate from wider society. What sort of families did they come from to need to be so abusive? Not happy and healthy McLoughlinLondon Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's article was sobering, and raised my anger at how women and children were treated by the religious orders mentioned. But I am struck once again by the fact that there is no mention of the men – the fathers of all these children. These were not virgin births, after all. Do we ever hear men's voices in protest and regret?Terry PrendergastHarefield, London Do you have a photograph you'd like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers' best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
FKA twigs turns Aviva Studios into a den of writhing bodies
FKA twigs' appearance at her own concerts isn't a given. She cancelled the opening two shows of her 'Eusexua' tour in Prague and Berlin, citing shipping issues wanting to make sure 'the tour was perfect'. As a result, twigs' show at Manchester's Aviva Studios is the third stop on her 2025 tour and first in the UK. On a personal level, this was also my first chance to see twigs following her pulling out of two scheduled appearances at Primavera Sound in a row. READ MORE: High street fashion chain makes four-word announcement 5 years after closing down READ MORE: One man's mission to visit every Irish pub in the world On Wednesday night, the Manchester crowd at the Aviva Studios get the full show. Amid abyssal dark, twigs' lithe figure stalks through the stage surrounded by cloaked figures. For the first section of the show, Act I: The Practice, sudden spotlights reveal her body-armoured look and twigs cycles through a medley of older tracks, including hits from 'Magdalene' and 'LP1'. In keeping with her rave culture aesthetic from the latest album, twigs and her dancers contort around each other creating orgiastic chimeras of limbs over throbbing basslines. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Act I builds to a climax with our first glimpse of the new album in 'Striptease'. The salacious song has a now-stripped down twigs and her dancers cavort against a central square structure's fine fabric before it is pulled down to usher in the next part of the show, Act II: State of Being. Now twigs settles into the brunt of the performance, swinging on ropes in the centre of the girdered structure for title track 'Eusexua', an uncompromising building club anthem that's all glitches and pulsating rhythms. In the lead up to the album, twigs coined the term eusexua as a 'practice', 'a state of being' and 'the pinnacle of human experience'. The show is a paean to her central thesis of connection told through bodies writhing against each other in the dank atmospheres of underground clubs, most exemplified through the jittery percussion loops on Koreless-produced song 'Drums of Death'. It's not all brute hedonism though. Camera operators burst on the stage for an interlude that parodies disinterested music journalists teasing lurid meanings out of twigs as close-ups of the artist are circulated overhead on huge screens. This sets the stage for an intimate departure for 'Keep It, Hold It' and 'Sticky', the most reflective songs of the album. Here twigs lays bare the isolation felt in the spotlight. An unfortunate side-effect of the camera interlude is it highlights how much the visuals backing twigs and her dancers don't provide much to see for most of the show. Standing in the middle of the vast warehouse stage at Aviva Studios, I can catch most of the action. Shorter fans are left only with the epileptic lighting and the arena's impressive sound system. For a crowd of 4,000 people, it feels an oversight that the vast majority don't see the breadth of work twigs has put into the show's choreography. After a brief performance of 'Vogue', pulled off with all the confidence that a Madonna cover requires, twigs finishes this central act with 'Girl Feels Good' to a montage of masculine fury thrusting us into a den of female desire and acceptance. For the finale of the show, we enter Act III: The Pinnacle. Now, twigs stands alone to sing 'Magdalene' track 'Home with You'. Pared back from her dancers, twigs' voice is left alone to reverberate through the room. For most of the concert, she's been oscillating between dancing and slightly-too-brief moments of live singing. Now, the sheer guttural strength of her soprano silences the entire room, which hangs on each elongated pause in the verses. As twigs cycles through her last tracks, we build towards '24hr Dog', a comparatively gentle track about submission that delicately builds to an emphatic conclusion. Finally, she ends on the fan-favourite 'Cellophane'. Again the crowd is agape in silence as twigs' piercingly strong voice hits seemingly impossible highs. The lights come up and twigs utters her first words directly to the crowd. It's the only reprieve we get for the entire night. For all that she strikes a distant performer, anchored to a tightly choreographed show, through the surreal experience of a club night that effortlessly weaves together the themes of darkness and embrace, her artistry is without question.
