Halliday Sutherland
"A born writer, especially a born story-teller. Dr. Sutherland, who is distinguished in medicine, is an amateur in the sense that he only writes when he has nothing better to do. But when he does, it could hardly be done better." G.K. Chesterton.
The uncensored draft of Dr. Sutherland’s “Irish Journey”.
Dr Sutherland’s 1955 visit to the Mother and Baby Home at Tuam and the Magdalene Laundry at Galway
In 1955, Dr. Halliday Sutherland visited the Mother and Baby Home at Tuam and the Magdalene Laundry at Galway. He wrote about these visits in Irish Journey (1956).
In order to obtain permission to visit the Magdalene Laundry at Galway, Dr. Sutherland agreed that his account would be vetted by the Mother Superior of the Galway Laundry. Accordingly, the account published in Irish Journey was censored.
In 2013, 57 years after the publication of Irish Journey, the uncensored draft was found in a suitcase in Britain. The story of how the book came to be censored and the rediscovery of the manuscript is told here.
Below are links to scanned images of the uncensored draft of Irish Journey. These include the letter from the Mother Superior to Dr. Sutherland dated 13th October 1955 as well as the marked-up draft, so you can read the parts that were removed from the book.
- Irish Journey Magdalen Home Letter from Sister Fidelma and Pages 114 to 117
- Irish Journey Magdalen Home Pages 118 to 122
- Irish Journey Magdalen Home Pages 123 to 127
- Irish Journey Magdalen Home Pages 129 to 134
The Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation recently released its Final Report. The account of Dr. Sutherland’s visit to the Tuam home was included at Section 15.155 on page 61 of the report. Note that these documents are copyright so do not publish them without permission. Permission can be obtained by contacting me on using the form on the “Contact” page of this site.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions (click the “Contact” tab).
Mark Sutherland
Curator, hallidaysutherland.com
January 2021