Childhood Interrupted

In 1950, Kathleen O’Malley and her two sisters were legally abducted from their mother. The rape of eight-year-old Kathleen by a neighbor triggered their removal. Kathleen’s mother successfully prosecuted the man, but it was her daughters who received a much harsher sentence when they were committed to Mount Carmel Industrial School in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was run by the Sisters of Mercy order of nuns, who also ran the notorious Magdalene Homes. Kathleen and her sisters were subjected to beatings, humiliation, hard labor, and near-starvation, until they were finally permitted to leave at the age of 16. Childhood Interrupted is Kathleen's inspiring, profoundly affecting story.