Two Galway women who "stood for women's rights" have been awarded the Freedom of the City of Galway.
Well-known playwright Patricia Burke Brogan and the late Ena McEntee received the highest award at a special meeting in the Hardiman Hotel on Friday.
Both women were involved in helping women who were in the Magdalene Laundry on Forster Street. Patricia Burke Brogan, a former nun, used her writings to comment on what happened on the Laundry, when she left the religious order. Her play, Eclipsed, which was premiered in 1992, highlighted the conditions in which the women were forced to live.
The late Ena McEntee and her family assisted women to escape from the laundry and start a new life in new locations.
Galway's mayor Cllr Colette Connolly the two recipients "offered a small glimmer of hope to those who were otherwise possessed of none at the time".
"They stood for womens’ rights and we are extremely proud of them," she said.
A plaque in honour of the women was unveiled.
