June 9, 2005: According to Amazon UK, this was the official publication date of the above book, which although credited solely to Kathy O’Beirne was actually written in collaboration with a professional wordsmith. It does not appear to have attracted serious attention until it was republished on May 18, 2006 (again according to Amazon UK) with the new title Don’t Ever Tell: Kathy’s Story: A True Tale Of A Childhood Destroyed By Neglect And Fear. Delete the word true, and you might end up with a fairly readable work of fiction.
And yes, this is the way Magdalen is spelt here.
In spite of its bestseller status, there have been several exposés of this book, not least by the author’s family, see for example this article from the London Times the following year which reports on a press conference they held in Dublin. There is no credible evidence this woman was ever raped by anyone, least of all a Catholic priest, but this sort of mush plays well with the gullibles. In spite of its having zero credibility, it was reprinted in 2010 and 2013.
Back To False Rape Timeline