Peter Mullan has remarked that the film was initially made because victims of Magdalene Asylums had received no closure in the form of recognition, compensation, or apology, and many remained lifelong devout Catholics.

Former Magdalene inmate Mary-Jo McDonagh told Mullan that the reality of the Magdalene Asylums was much worse than depicted in the film.

Magdalene Asylums grew out of the rescue movement in United Kingdom and Ireland in the 19th century, which had as its formal goal the Rehabilitation (penology) of women who had worked as prostitution.

Given Ireland's conservative sexual morality, Magdalene Asylums were a generally accepted social institution until well into the second half of the 20th century.

The last Magdalene Asylum in Republic of Ireland closed on September 25, 1996.

'Ulster Magdalene Asylum' was founded in 1839 on Donegall Pass, Belfast, by the Church of Ireland, like other Magdalene Asylum it catered for fallen women.

Everyone of a certain age in Ireland knows about the Magdalene Asylums, where women who offended the country's moral code were sent to live, and sometimes to die, in disgrace.

The Magdalene Asylums were set up in the 19th century as a refuge for prostitutes and other so-called fallen women.

September 25 - The last of the Magdalene Asylums is closed in Ireland.

Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor spent time in a Magdalene Asylum as a teenager.