THE doors of the last Magdalene Laundry to close are to reopen to stage a controversial play during Dublin’s Theatre Festival.

INSTITUTIONAL abuse and neglect is something we associate with the past, with that “Hidden Ireland” in which a deeply conservative quasi-religious ethos held sway.

The new Lassie film starring legendary actor Peter O’Toole and Samantha Morton is to begin shooting in Dublin and Wicklow tomorrow.

Vatican Radio has denounced The Magdalene Sisters being awarded the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Director Peter Mullan’s scathing depiction of an abusive Catholic convent, The Magdalene Sisters, won the Golden Lion for best picture today at the Venice Film Festival.