does anyone know or heard about the magdalene asylums or magdalene laundries?

The 44th article of the Irish constitution includes the text "2º The State recognises the special position of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens."  This was repealed by the Fifth Amendment in 1972, so no there wouldn't have been any such laws because the Roman Catholic Church was considered as kind of above the law in Ireland.

The Virgin Mary gave St. Catherine St. Mary Magdalene for her spiritual mother.  St. Mary Magdalene is a very wise saint and can help anyone who is willing to pray to her and honor her!

Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house "fallen women". 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_asylum