Catherine O'Donnell has spent years collecting some of these women's stories. At least 879 women died in the Magdalene laundries. In cemeteries across Ireland, you can find headstones with some of their names.
When she was 14 years old, Elizabeth Coppin was sent to a place called Peacock Lane in Cork, Ireland. It was a laundry business run by a Catholic order of nuns. Elizabeth noticed bars on its windows.